


All Are Equal

by AvatarAang7



Series: All Are Equal [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, F/F, F/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-14 20:23:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 63,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4578714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvatarAang7/pseuds/AvatarAang7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Jinora comes to realize how bad the situation she and her family are in, she decides to step up. She needs money, and fast. The best way to do that is to ask Korra for help, but there is just one downside to that: Korra is a dealer.</p>
<p>Modern Legend of Korra AU. Drugdealer!Jinora. Rated M for drugs, sex, violence, alcohol, and more.</p>
<p>Once again, huge thanks to AvatarKya for drawing another fantastic piece of art for this story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Suck

-"Korra, that's really not necessary, you know that."

"And you know that I won't take no for an answer, so you might as well stop arguing."

Pema sighed, and Korra smiled. It was the same ritual every month. Korra would give Pema 100 yuans, which she desperately needed, and Pema would be reluctant to take it, but in the end, she did anyways. "Alright, but then you are staying for dinner. I will not have you give us this money and send you off to eat frozen pizza or worse."

"Fair enough." Korra took a seat at the head of the table, next to Ikki. "Why do you always give us money? And why don't you keep it yourself? And where do you even make it?" The little motor mouth rattled of her questions at her usual machine-gun fire speed. Korra adored her, though. Ikki had been this way since she learned to talk, always extremely curious even if she did have an occasional lack of restraint. She had a voice and was set on making the most of it.  _D'oh well. That's to be expected of someone_ that _eager._

"You know why I give you the money, because you need it more than I do." She was trying to think of way to get herself out of the last question without lying too much, when she was thankfully interrupted by the front door opening. Korra turned around, looking to see what her unofficial little sister had been up to. "Evening Jin."

-"Korra!" Jinora quickly spied at the table, seeing that it had mostly been made, and that her mother was still in the kitchen to get the last of the food. "Good to see you. That time of the month again?" she said with a slanted grin on her face.

Of course she was referring to the money, but Korra played along anyway. "Yep. And to make up for it, your mom makes me join you for dinner. You're just in time, so have a seat."

Jinora smiled and took the seat on the other side of Korra, opposite of her little sister. Korra sniffed suspiciously as Jinora walked past, as it was the unmistakable smell of smoke. She leaned over, pulling her in close so that no one else would hear it. "I thought I warned you not to smoke right before you come home."

-"Oh shush, it's not that bad," Jinora whispered back. She leaned back into her chair again. "Tuyen pulled me aside, you know how things work."

Ikki looked up at this. "Tuyen? That slut who dumped Meelo?"

-"Ikki!" Pema chastised, who just walked back into earshot with a bowl of rice. "Watch your language."

-"Well, just because Meelo no longer gets along with her, doesn't mean I can't," Jinora came to her own defense.

Meelo mixed himself into the conversation. "Well, you better watch out for her, or she'll use you and throw you away."

-"Enough. Meelo, you know why Tuyen broke up with you, and Ikki, you are not really in a position to judge your sister for her friends." Jinora made a smug grin towards Ikki, who returned it by sticking out her tongue, all of which their mother missed.

"Guys, why don't we all stop bickering for a minute and eat?" Korra said. She was genuinely hungry, and her pretty much monthly dinner at Pema's was always a highlight. While the single mother was struggling to keep her head above the water financially, she was still able to cook an excellent meal with very limited means. That's where Korra came in. She had been going over to the Gyatso's for years, and they had been struggling since Tenzin died. So ever since she was making enough to take care of her own, Korra had been helping them out with a small monthly injection of cash.

What Korra told Ikki was true. They needed it harder than she did. She didn't take any pride in her work, but since she only had to take care of herself and not drag around four children, it was a lot easier for her. Even though she didn't have to use her imagination to think of what she could do with 100 yuans a month extra, she always gave it to Pema. The remaining Gyatsos were good people who had just been dealt extremely shitty cards.

Dinner went over quickly. The turn fell to Ikki and Meelo to do the dishes, leaving Jinora some spare time to take a walk with Korra. They casually walked down the streets, as the sun was beginning to set. "Jin, why do you always come home so late? Your mom tells me you miss dinner a lot."

Jinora sighed. "No space to think in that broom cupboard. And how am I supposed to do my homework in there? Rohan is yelling in his room, Meelo is being obnoxious in the living room, and Ikki is bouncing up and down in ours. That leaves me at pretty much zero places to work at home. So I just stay in the library to do my homework, and hey, it helps that I'm on good terms with the librarian. She likes me, so she often lets me stay half an hour longer."

"All valid points."

-"Hell, why do you think we even go out here all the way? If space and money weren't a problem, we'd hang at my place all the time."

'Time' prompted Korra to check her phone for it. And of course, she was already running late. "Shit! Jin, I gotta roll. See you later." She started walking away, when she turned around again. "And straight back home! No detours to Tuyen!"

-"Would I ever?" Jinora replied sarcastically.

Korra smiled, knowing that she probably wouldn't. Jinora was smart enough to know that walking around this part of town after dark was a bad idea, especially for a sixteen-year-old girl.

She herself didn't really have a choice. As it was an equally bad idea for a nineteen-year-old girl to do that, Korra first went back to her apartment, which was empty. That could only mean one thing: Opal was already at the club. Korra quickly grabbed her .45 and cocked it, hoping that she didn't have to use it. Didn't mean she wouldn't if it wasn't necessary, but still. She hid it in the front pocket of her hoodie, and threw on the hood itself, as she didn't want to attract any unwanted attention when she went to pick up a shipment.

Berating herself for not looking for a place closer to the den, Korra picked up the pace, and was slightly out of breath when she finally made it to Iroh's. She took the stairs two at a time, bursting into The General's office. This did not please him.

-"You're late. The Triangle Club is long open, and you only now come in here."

"I know, I know. Lost track of time. Have you got the product?"

He frowned. "If you're late again tomorrow, I'll send Tahno there in your place next week. At least he'll be there."

Korra sighed. Iroh said that just to get on her nerves, he would never do that to her. She hated Tahno and Tahno hated her. Hell, she landed The Triangle Club, making good money for both herself and for Iroh. "Yeah, will do. Can I go now?"

-"Product is on the cabinet. Make it work, Korra." She picked it up on her way out and stuffed it in her backpack, and didn't turn around to Iroh again. He was in a bad mood today.

The walk over from Iroh's den to The Triangle Club was thankfully short. It would have been even shorter, but Korra had to make a few stops on the way there, so it took her some considerable time. Not everyone looking to buy some product was very precise when it came to paying, but somehow always ended up short.

If it hadn't been for the fact that she couldn't show up back at the den with  _just_  the money she made at The Triangle Club, she would have walked away.

When she did finally get there, the bouncer was outside, and recognized Korra when she walked up. "Evening. Another delivery?"

"Do you even have to ask, Zhu Li?"

-"I suppose not. Alright, you know the drill: put your piece in the locker, and I'll give Varrick a call. Enjoy."

"Thanks." Zhu Li stepped aside, letting Korra through. She unloaded her gun, and put in a locker as instructed. The second bouncer in the hallway followed her every action, but did let her in.

The music was nearly deafening, as always. Even Korra could see the pecking order in this joint. The further you are from the door, the more popular you are. Several girls were dancing on the tables near the door, as they were the least experienced. Opal was in the middle, which was already a lot better. The circles of men around her table were tighter packed, and tended to tip bigger. But the real place where the girls wanted to be was on the center-stage, which was where  _she_  was right now.

_Oh snap._

Asami was moving those goddess-like hips against the pole, completely entrancing the three-thick hedge of fat middle-aged guys who were waving money around like toilet paper. That, and she also stole Korra's attention. Clad in nothing but black lacey lingerie on her pale skin, Asami made Korra zone out for a moment, before she was pulled back into reality by a particularly loud drop in the bass.  _Right. Varrick._

Korra made her way to the back of the club, where she saw the owner of the joint literally twirling his moustache as he smiled at her. She quickly eyed him up. As ever, he was wearing a suit, but no tie, since it was already smoldering hot in the club. For some reason, he always wore a black shirt under it, never a white one. Still, he looked better than Korra with her baggy pants and worn hoodie. Since they were still in the music, which was loud enough to make sensitive ears bleed, they retreated into Varrick's office. He sat himself down in his chair, spinning it around like he was some sort of Bond-villain. "So Korra, brought the usual?"

Korra reached into her backpack, taking out the large bag of pills and gently placing it on the desk. "One shipment, as requested. You got the cash?"

Varrick got his usual sly smile on his face again. "What are you taking me for, a deceiving businessman?"

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't."

-"Have I ever lied to you?" he asked, while taking a bundle of bills from the top drawer of his desk.

He handed the money over to Korra, who quickly counted it and nodded as it was what they agreed on. "No, but you do have a reputation."

-"So do you, Avatar," Varrick deadpanned, and Korra smiled. "Pleasure doing business," she said, while shaking his hand. For some reason, she always did that with Varrick, and only with Varrick. Truth be told, she didn't trust him, even though she didn't trust any of her clients. But never let it be said that he wasn't professional, so Korra was professional around him too.

-"Well then," he continued. "Now that business is over, let's move to the pleasure part of the night. Asami will be done in a few minutes, so why don't you go and have a drink? On the house, as per usual, if you send the Fabulous Dealing Brothers my way."

"Will do. See you next week." Korra went down to the main floor again, where she looked around, and soon spotted the brothers hanging around in the corner. Mako was the first one to see her. Not that she was hard to spot, as she was the only girl there who wasn't a stripper.

-"Korra! Another load for us to distribute?"

"Up in Varrick's office. But first we're gonna do a drink, on me."

-"Ooh, kinky," Bolin deadpanned. Korra playfully punched him in the shoulder, and they made their way over to the bar. She ordered them each a shot of vodka, which they all threw back on Korra's cue.

"THERE!" she loudly announced, while slamming the glass back onto the bar. "Now that's over with, you need to get down to business. Varrick is sitting on a load of product and there are more than a few customers waiting to get coked off their balls."

Bolin let out a gush of laughter, and it even got a small smile out of Mako. "You're probably right," he said with his usual stoical demeanor. "Let's get to work, bro."

He and Bolin walked off to Varrick's office, while Korra lingered at the bar a little while longer. She threw back a few more shots, starting to get light headed, when  _she_  walked up to her.

-"Hey gorgeous," Asami whispered into Korra's ear. Well, what passed for whispering over the thrumming music. "Here for some private time?"

Korra smirked, as her eyes roamed over the pale beauty. "You read my mind."

Asami dragged her to the far back, where she knew a special room. It was in an unused part of The Triangle Club, where the music didn't reach so much. None of the girls ever used it, because there was little supervision from the bouncers in this part. Not that Asami needed any with Korra, as they were... Well, no one really knew what they were.

They were not exactly a couple, as they never saw each other outside of the club. That, and Korra didn't think dating a stripper was a good idea. But Asami didn't want Korra to tip her, as she almost enjoyed it more than Korra did.

Mostly though, they just fooled around for a bit, as they were doing right now. Korra had thrown off her hoodie, ditching it somewhere in the corner while Asami pushed her onto the deep sofa of the private room, climbing on top of her in the process.

She gently cupped her face, pulling her in for a warm kiss. Asami slid her tongue past Korra's lips, who returned the gesture.  _Definitely not normal lap dance protocol. But hey, I'm not one to complain._

Asami moved down, sensually kissing Korra's neck. Not that it was hard for her to do that, her lips were softer than a pillow made of cotton candy and clouds. Coupled with the large amount of alcohol running through Korra's body, the warm room, and the spongy sofa, she nearly fell asleep.

Suddenly realizing that she still had Iroh's money, she jolted awake again, nearly head-butting Asami in the process. "Shit! 'Sami, I'm really sorry, but I have to run."

She sighed. "Iroh again?"

Korra nodded. "Yeah. I really liked what you were doing, but I don't have a choice. I already fucked up once tonight, if I make that two, he'll have my head." She quickly reached out for her hoodie, and threw it back on along with her backpack. She pressed a quick kiss on Asami's lips, leaving a startled stripper in her wake.

It was mighty cold for an early fall night, so she was glad her hoodie was warm enough. Snuggling tight into it, she made her way back to the den.

Iroh looked up as she walked back in. "Varrick give you any trouble?"

"No more than usual," Korra deadpanned, while she threw the money on his desk. He quickly counted it, giving Korra her share. "You sell it for a good price, Korra. But are you sure that little black-haired plaything is worth it?"

Korra raised an eyebrow at this, which made a smile crack across Iroh's face. "Don't be surprised Korra, I have eyes and ears everywhere."

She sighed. "Well, who I decide to fool around with is not really your concern, now is it?"

-"If it's blinding your professional outlook, it is." Korra frowned, and Iroh stood up from behind his desk, walking over to the fridge in the corner. "I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us, Korra. I like you. You're productive, and you know when to keep your mouth shut." He reached in, picking up two beers, and handed one to Korra. "But I need to know that I can trust your judgment. I got a lot riding on you."

Korra took a sip of her beer and let herself fall into an old barcalounger. "I know. You can trust me, and my judgment. I got the Gyatsos depending on me, so I can't screw them over by getting my dumb ass caught."

-"As long as you know it," he said while taking a swig of his beer.

They finished their beers with some hollow banter, and Korra went back to her own place. Iroh really wasn't a bad guy, but he was risking it all. Korra didn't blame him for being careful, or even for being strict with his sellers. If Iroh didn't make sure they would keep quiet if they were ever busted, he would have been out of commission long ago. He always made sure to have some sort of leverage over his workers. Korra's soft spots were the Gyatsos, but of course, they didn't know that.

She was fortunate enough not to have any run-ins with shady characters so she made it home quickly. Opal was back too, already soundly asleep on the couch. Korra smiled draped her hoodie over her, and made her way over to her own bed.

In the most unceremonious of ways to fall asleep, Korra let herself fall onto her bed fully clothed, and fell asleep then and there.


	2. Working Conditions

Jinora was feeling on top of the world. She had an easy day at school, aced a test on Advanced Physics, and her homework was a cakewalk. She was supposed to cook dinner for her and her siblings, as Pema was working a nightshift in the restaurant, but that wasn't a problem. Her mother had a good month, and since she was drawing close to her next paycheck, she had told Jinora she could make it a little more expensive than usual. That meant a good dinner, because Jinora could actually cook a fairly decent meal.  _Not even Meelo can ruin this day for me._

The supermarket she went to was the same one Pema worked at. It was halfway between school and their small apartment, and it was a good way to take a few minutes to catch up with her mother. They would time Pema's break and Jinora coming home from school so that they could talk a bit. It was always nice for them to sit down and just drink a cup of tea together.

There was one downside: Pema's manager, Toza. It certainly didn't help that he was a grump, always telling them to get on with it so that her mother could get back to work. Jinora might have been able to forgive him that, if it was for the facts that he was also very rude, and worst of all, he  _smelled._

She got the groceries first, almost skipping through store as she gathered the ingredients and went to the register. Opal was working on that, and they had always been on good terms. "Hey Jin. Cooking again tonight?"

"Yeah, Mom's working a nightshift at the diner, so I'm kind of obliged to. You know, eldest child and all. But I don't mind, not today at least."

Opal stoically continued scanning the products, doing it all on muscle memory. "That's always good to hear. But cooking is always a useful skill to have, so might as well get some practice, right?"

"I guess so." Jinora handed Opal the money, while packing the groceries into her backpack. "Say Opal, could you do me a favor?" she asked, once she was done packing. "Could you let me into the break room? I haven't seen my mom in the shop, and I should at least say 'hi'."

-"Good point. Hold on for a minute, will you?"

There was one lady in line behind Jinora, who only had a handful of items, so Opal quickly helped her and walked Jinora over to the door, which had a keypad-combination lock on it. After punching it in, she let Jinora in, and went back to her register. Much to Jinora's surprise, her mother was not in the main room. She knew there was a small office on the right, in which Pema sometimes did some administrative work.

But when Jinora stepped inside, she got the shock of her life.

Sitting on his deskchair was Toza, quite comfortably leaning back, as her mother was on her knees, with his dick in her mouth. Jinora's had to fight back the urge to throw up on the spot, while her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

" _Mom_?!"

Pema immediately pulled back, looking like she felt caught red-handed. "J-Jinora..." she stammered, while trying to get back on her feet. But as she was walking over to Jinora, Toza grabbed her arm. "You're not going anywhere, you finish me first."

Jinora was stunned. She wanted to yell at the bastard. To call him a pervert and an asshole. But she couldn't. Not with her mother looking at her like this. Tears were appearing in the corners of Pema's eyes, and Jinora could only slowly shake her head in disbelief. She backed away, before bolting back out the door, and  _far_  away from that disgusting place.

She didn't really take in how she went back to the apartment. Ikki, Meelo and Rohan were there, doing whatever it is they did. She put the bag of groceries on the table, and went to her room, in which Ikki fortunately wasn't. She kicked the door shut behind her, and dropped on her bed.

This was not good. No way in hell her mother was in any kind of relationship with Toza. If she was, yeah, it would have been awkward for Jinora to walk in or them like that, but Pema wasn't just embarrassed about it, it was  _shame_. Not to mention, she had agreed with her on multiple occasions that Toza was, simply put, a pig. One way or another, she wasn't doing it out of volition.

But that did leave a question hanging: why  _was_  she doing it? If she was doing it for the money, there were better guys to do it to than Toza.  _Both richer_ and _better smelling, even in this part of town._

Jinora wanted to talk about it with someone. She couldn't tell Ikki or Meelo or Rohan about it, it would crush them. They still had an innocent perception of their mother, and it should stay that way. But she wasn't about to bury this. At some point in time, she would have to confront her mother, and at least get her side of the story. She figured she might as well make it a quick and painless death, as opposed to a long and drawn out one.

She steeled herself, regaining her composure before stepping out into the living room. When she went back outside, Ikki did take notice. "Hey sis, are you still cooking tonight? Me and Meelo are hungry."

Jinora sighed. "Yeah. I guess I am." She silently made dinner, and only half cared what she threw in. Fortunately, Ikki stopped her when she was about to garnish it with a dash of soap, so it was still edible, but Ikki was very suspicious of course. But Jinora wasn't hungry anymore. She only ate a few bites, before declaring she was done and putting Ikki and Meelo on dish duty.

Pema had to work late at the diner, and Jinora decided to wait up for her. It would be late, especially given that Pema wasn't looking forward to facing her daughter either.

Jinora looked up from her book when the door creaked. Her mother looked utterly defeated, and like she probably had been crying. It almost felt like the rolls had been reversed, where Jinora was the stern parent about to berate her child for coming home late.

With a sigh, she threw her bag in the corner and sat down on the opposite side of Jinora on the dining table. "Look, Jinora..." she hesitantly began, but her daughter immediately interrupted her.

"Spare me the details and the excuses. All I want to know is why you did it."

Pema was silent for a while. "Because he made me do it. Toza knows that he has a position of power over us, and he abuses that. He makes all the girls at the supermarket do it, he cuts our pay if we don't."

Another urge to throw up was building inside Jinora. " _All_  of them?"

She nodded. "Yes. The one thing we find comfort in, is that we're all in the same boat. It's not a nice thing to do, Jinora."

"Not a nice... Understatement of the fucking century!" Jinora was not one to usually swear, but this one slipped away from her anyway. What was strangest to her was that her mother didn't even berate her for it. "We always agreed on Toza! Why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you go to the police, get him for sexual harassment?"

-"What good would it do me?" Pema countered. "Say I do that. Yes, I'd easily get a conviction from it, but it wouldn't gain me anything. He would go to jail, his store would close and me and the other girls would be out of a job. That is why I do it, Jinora. Because I don't have a choice. None of us do. If we did, all of us would have been out of there a long time ago. But if I were to walk away from there, I would only end up in a place that would probably be even worse, if I could get a job at all." She fell silent for a moment. "I'm doing it for you, Jinora. No, I don't like it, but I'm doing it because I need to take care of you, and your brothers and sister. We are barely coping while I have this, and it's better than nothing."

Jinora sighed. Pema was probably right in her analysis of what would happen if she would open her mouth. She balled her fists, feeling more helpless than she had ever done. "How often?" she eventually asked.

-"What do you mean?"

"How often has he been making you do it?"

Her mother hesitated. "You don't want to know," she eventually said.

"No, I'm pretty sure I do. You have told me this much, I want to know the rest," Jinora said, even though she wasn't entirely certain of it. On the one hand, she really didn't want to know, but on the other, she wanted to know the extent of the situation.

"Every few weeks," she managed to say. Jinora felt like throwing up again, which was far too often for one night. "It started a few weeks after I started working there."

Jinora looks up at this. "But that was... F-four years ago!"

-"Yeah," Pema softly said. It fell silent between them, while Jinora let it all wash over her. Her mother, the person she looked up to more than anyone, was being degraded to nothing but a whore. And for pennies. By one of the most disgusting men she knew of.

Even when they had nothing, her mother had always been a beacon for Jinora and her siblings. She was working two jobs in order to provide for them all. It was tight every month, but they always made it. They never had to skip a meal, or go to school underdressed. She had still raised four children on her own, without any resources, and did a damn fine job so far. Jinora was always on top of her class, partly because of her sheer intelligence, but mostly because her mother always motivated her to make the most of that.

But now... Now her good nature was being exploited by a pervert. A horrid bastard who dared to use her. Jinora cringed at the thought of Toza. She never liked the man, but now, she felt something awful boil up inside her. Something she had never felt before.

Jinora was not a vindictive person. She always found it easier to forgive than to seek vengeance. But now, that was what she wanted to do. She felt the hate for Toza rush through her. But she knew there was nothing she could do. Not without ending up with the exact scenario her mother described.

The only thing she could do was take away the reason for her mother to submit herself to Toza. But for that, she was going to need a lot of money, and fast.

A job at a Narook's wasn't going to cut it. Jinora's face hardened as she realized what she needed to do. She needed to sit down for a talk with Korra.


	3. A Pair of Threes

Jinora took one last breath before knocking.  _Just calm down. You're only asking her for help... getting into a drug ring. Yeah. You're fucked._  She sighed and finally knocked.

Korra opened herself, surprised to see Jinora. "Jin? What are you doing here?"

"Do you have a minute? I kind of need to talk to you."

-"Uhh, sure, come in." Korra stepped aside, letting Jinora into her apartment. It wasn't much, but for two people it, would do which was exactly what it did. Opal had lived with Korra for a few years now, and it was working okay for them. Opal needed a place somewhere close between the supermarket and the club to allow her to keep up her job at both. Korra wanted to be close to the Gyatso's, so it was a decent compromise.

-"What did you want to talk about?" Korra asked, slightly concerned.

"About my mom." Jinora sighed. "I went to see her in the supermarket yesterday, and kind of saw... something that I wasn't supposed to see."

She fell silent, and Korra furrowed her brow. "Saw what?"

Jinora unsuccessfully tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "I saw her giving Toza a blowjob," she eventually managed. "He made her do it."

At first, Korra didn't say anything. She just stared at Jinora. Suddenly she fell back into her seat, slapping her fist into her palm. "Bastard," she hissed. "So it  _is_  true."

"Is?" Jinora quizzically said. Then, it hit her like a ton of bricks. "You knew?!"

Korra sighed. "I had my suspicions. There are days that Opal comes home, and clogs back half a bottle of mouthwash before even saying hello. Every time I asked her about it, she ignores me at best, and depending on how bad the day is, she yells that it's none of my fucking business. So no, I didn't know, but I could hazard a decent guess."

"Did you know about my mom as well?"

Korra shook her head. "No, I didn't. Didn't think it would be that bad."

"Well, it is. He makes all the girls at the supermarket do it, and he docks their pay if they refuse, or tell people about it."

-"And what about your mom?"

"That was hardly her fault, I walked in on them. It'd be a dick-move even for him to take it out on her," Jinora said, but she wasn't sure he would anyway. Toza and her mother weren't on the best of terms, and this might be an excuse to get rid of her.  _Replace her with someone younger._  She shook the thought from her head, and turned her focus to Korra again. "I thought about this, Korra. I've come to realize that I need to start doing something to help my family, and that's why I'm really here." She paused for a moment. "I want in, Korra."

Korra forcibly tried to act dazed, but miserably failed. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me Korra, you're not good at that. I know you sell for a living, and I don't mean girl scout cookies. I want in," she repeated.

Korra hesitated. "I don't know, Jin. This is not something you'd want to do impulsively. Getting in is easy, getting out is hard. Most people who do get out, leave in a box."

It was an obvious attempt to scare her off. "Korra, I'm tired of sitting on my hands here. That's all I've ever done, and it is way past time I change that. My mom said she did it for me, and I need money in order to change that."

-"What's wrong with an honest job?"

"Says the professional dealer," Jinora threw back. It succeeded in throwing Korra off her game. "Besides, get a job where? The supermarket is kind of out of the question, and something like a Narook's doesn't pay nearly enough to get her out. I'm going to need a lot more than minimum wage."

Korra was silent for a while. "Jinora," she softly began, while she leaned forward. "Have you given some thought to the notion that your mother is doing it so that you don't have to?"

Now it was Jinora's turn to be silent. Korra had an excellent point, that  _was_  the reason her mother was doing this. But that didn't make it any easier to bear. "Korra, it's not the fact that she sucked some guy's dick for money, I've done that for crying out loud! It was  _who_  she was doing it to. I mean, Toza, he looks like a pig, acts like a pig, and smells like a pig. If anything, it's weird that the duck-test doesn't apply to him." She paused for a moment. "You didn't see her like I did," Jinora said. "She wasn't just embarrassed that I saw her with his dick in her mouth, it was much,  _much_  worse than that. Toza isn't just disgusting, he was...  _demeaning_ , and he was  _humiliating_  her. Do you have any idea what it's like for me to see my own mother like that?"

-"No, I don't," Korra sighed. "But that doesn't mean I have to agree with you. You have always been the promising one, Jinora! You can get out of this shithole, get good grades in school, go to college, get a good job. You can take your family with you from there."

"I probably could, but that would take ten years, not to mention a heap of money to get me through college, which we don't have. Even if I could get a scholarship, there's still the time issue that worries me." Jinora paused for a moment. "I don't want to sound mean here, but Ikki and Meelo simply don't have the same chances I have. Even if I did go to college, they would be in my shoes two years from now, and I also want to prevent that. If I can save them, it's worth doing it for me." Korra was still hesitating, so Jinora threw in her last trump card.  _Going all-in on a pair of threes, if you will._  "Korra, if you won't help me, someone else will. I came to you because I trust you more than the kids at school who I know to also do this. They wouldn't be this hesitant on saying yes."

 _Fortunately, Korra isn't holding a straight flush either._  "No," Korra resolutely said. "If you're going in, you're at least going to do so in a way that I can keep an eye on you." She sighed again. "I don't like this, Jinora. I don't like this  _one_  bit."

"Thank you." She thought for a moment. "So what's the next step?"

-"Damn it," Korra swore under her breath. "You're really not kidding." She sighed, while Jinora shook her head. "The next step is that I go talk to my supplier, see if he's even interested in taking you in. Keep in mind, I have to vouch for you, so if you fuck up, it'll land on me. That means I'll have to walk you through the necessary baby's first steps of dealing, if you will. We'll have to get you some equipment, but that won't be too hard, and from there, you're pretty much in."

"That easy, huh?"

-"Your end is, it's much more difficult for me. I'll have to convince The General to take you in, and even if he does, it means a lot of work for me."

"Who's The General?"

-"My supplier. He gives me the drugs, I sell them for him. He's got a couple of people working for him, and he's typically on the lookout for willing bodies. Your age might be a problem, though, but I can work past that. I was even younger than you when I started."

"You were?" Jinora asked, shocked that Korra had been in that game for that long.

Korra sighed. "I was. I dropped out of school, and had nowhere else to go. Iroh was good enough to take me in, and I've been working for him ever since. He's... decent." She hesitated to say it, so Jinora immediately suspected that she didn't fully agree with her own statement. "That is my condition though: you go through with your school, and if you need to get out so that you can go to college, you get out. Deal?"

 _Well, she's only looking out for you, just as planned._  "Fair enough, I can do that."

-"Then I can get you in." Korra was silent for a moment. "You go now, I need to square things over with Iroh first anyway. I'll come get you when I've made the necessary arrangements."

"Thank you, Korra."

Korra sighed. "Just don't make me regret it."


	4. Like Selling Ice Cream

-"You can still turn around, if you want to."

Jinora sighed. "No. I'm seeing this through, no matter what you say."

-"Have it your way," Korra said, and opened the door to Iroh's office. Jinora was surprised to see that Iroh was most certainly not the kind of man she was expecting. Instead, he was wearing a casual suit without a tie, a clean shave, immaculate haircut, and deep amber gold eyes. "Iroh, this is Jinora Gyatso, the girl I told you about."

He stood up from behind his desk, smiling as he shook Jinora's hand. "Korra told me plenty of things about you. I hope you can live up to that."

-"Likewise, but I will tell you that I'm not here for any fancy gangster stuff. I'm in it for the money, no other motives. I take it Korra laid out my terms?"

Iroh started laughing. "That's why everyone is in this game, but it's not what they say 'optional'," he said, while making quotation marks in the air with his fingers. "But yeah, she did. No pussy, no head, which I think is fair enough. But I will say this: you're either in or not, I won't have my people do things half-assed. What did Korra tell you?"

"That you do nasty stuff. She didn't go into any specifics."

-"And she was right to do so. If she told you, it would make run away screaming. Trust me on that kid, I have seen shit that would reduce you to tears straight away."

Jinora scoffed. "I doubt that. Lived here all my life, seen all kinds of stuff go down that would make most people lose their lunch, so please, don't patronize me."

Iroh sighed. "I'm not patronizing you, I'm warning you. I have to make certain investments in you, so I need to know that you can hold your own, at least so that I can make a little bit of a profit on you."

"I promise you, I can. What Korra told you is true: I need the money, and so I am seeing this through to the end. My imagination is quite... vivid, if you know what I mean, so I don't think I'll be in for that many surprises."

Korra stepped into the conversation. "Jinora, Iroh is kind of right here. There are some nasty things involved with this business."

"Korra, you explained that to me already, and I accept that risk." She paused for a moment. "Some things just have to be done, no matter if I like them or not. This is one of them."

Iroh carefully eyed her up from head to toe, probably looking to see any signs of her faltering. Apparently, he didn't find any, as he slowly nodded a few times. "Alright," he eventually said. "There are a couple of things we need to take care of before you go home again. First off, picture time." He pulled a camera from his desk, and pointed to a white space of wall. "You're going to need a fake ID to get into a lot of places where you can find people to sell to. Bars, nightclubs, you know what I'm talking about. If you're smart, you'll get friendly with bouncers and barmen, they are your best friends when scoping out the whos and whats."

Jinora put up a neutral face as Iroh took her picture, not entirely pleased with trusting that man. But for what he was, he seemed nice enough. "So how long before I can really get started?"

He thought for a moment, before turning to Korra. "When did you agree to The Triangle Club again?"

-"Friday," Korra said, clearly annoyed that Iroh was assuming Jinora could just tag along like this.

-"I can do that. Alright, Jinora, you tag along with Korra this Friday, she'll show you the ropes and the basic works of what it would take."

"Sounds good," Jinora said.

-"That's settled then. I guess I'll see you Friday again," he said. "Now if you would please leave me and Korra to discuss some last things, and then you can join in."

She nodded, and left them to it.

* * *

Korra watched Jinora close the door behind her, and wasn't any more certain that this had been the right choice. "So what did you think?" she asked.

-"I think she has potential. Why did you say she was in it again?"

"Her mother is forced to whore around in order to make ends meet, and she wants to put a stop to that."

-"Father out of the picture, I take it?"

Korra scoffed. "Yeah, but that's probably for the best. Her mother and I always tell her that Tenzin had big dreams for her, but truth be told, no one really knew him, or what his dreams were. He was quiet, timid, almost invisible. Her mother didn't think much of him, her mother's mother hated him. The man never even scratched the surface of life, it's probably best he died so young, he wasn't doin' much but takin' up space," she said, never taking her eyes off the door, but then she slowly started turning to Iroh. "But that doesn't make for a very powerful eulogy, now does it?"

He burst out laughing at this. "No, I suppose it doesn't. But are you completely sure we can trust this girl?"

Korra thought for a moment. "Yes," she firmly stated. "She smart and she's motivated, so once I get her up to speed on the what to do and what not to do, I think she would make a fine asset."

Iroh took his time to let her words sink in. "Alright, but if she turns out to be a dud, it's on you, you read?"

Korra nodded, and made a mental note to instruct Jinora extra well.

* * *

Three days later, it felt very real to Jinora all of a sudden.  _This is it._  She was about to open the door for Korra to go out onto the streets together, and then she would really be in. She took a deep breath and opened up. "Hey Korra."

-"Evening. Want to get going?"

Jinora nodded. "Yeah." She turned around to her siblings. "Guys, I'm going out with Korra, and Ikki is in charge until mom gets back. Understand?" Ikki cheered, and Meelo and Rohan both groaned, signaling that they did. "Alright then."

-"Are you ready?" Korra asked upon Jinora stepping out. "This is you last chance. After tonight, there is no turning back anymore."

"I know. Let's do this."

-"Alright then, let's go," Korra said. She walked out again onto the street in the direction of her first address. "There are a few things you need to know, starting with this: selling drugs is like selling ice cream. You make calls, pound the pavement, and above all else, never use your own product. That is rule number one, Jinora. If I ever find you violating that rule, I will beat that sort of behavior out of you myself."

Jinora scoffed. "Yeah, no, I wasn't planning on doing that. I'm not stupid, Korra, I know what this stuff will do to you. You can trust me with that."

-"Good to know. Now, one thing you're going to need is this." She produced a small plastic card from her back pocket and handed it to Jinora. It was the fake ID Iroh had arranged for her. Apparently, her new name was Jin Sato, and she was just over 18 years old.  _Goody. I probably couldn't have thought of anything more generic if I tried._  "I'm going to get you a few more things, but for now, this will have to do." Korra turned into a building, which was a sleazy old bar.

"What are we doing here?"

Korra smiled. "This is my first stop for the night. I have a few regulars in here. I want you to keep your eyes open, see if you notice anything odd."

She didn't really know what to make of this, so she just played along. Korra sat down at the bar, and Jinora just sat down next to her, and the barman walked over. "Evening Korra." He turned to face Jinora. "Who's your friend?"

-"Shiro, Jin, Jin, Shiro. We'll both have a beer."

Shiro raised an eyebrow. "Are you 18?"

Jinora confidently pulled out her new ID, which was good enough to convince him. "Coming right up," he said, and put two bottles on the bar, before walking off again.

-"Well, here's hoping your career is more successful than mine," Korra said, while holding up her bottle. Jinora picked up the one meant for her, and clinked it against Korra's. "Let's hope indeed." She took her first sip, and had a hard time not coughing it up again immediately, since it was unbelievably bitter.

Korra smiled upon seeing this. "Don't worry, it's something you have to learn to appreciate. So tell me, what have you noticed?"

Jinora didn't really know what to say to this. "Umm..." She looked around, trying to find anything about the other patrons that stood out. There was a guy in the corner alone at a table, nervously looking around. At the far end of the bar, there was a guy who already had more whiskey than was good for him. A couple of guys were laughing at a joke at a table in the distance. One guy was just gingerly sipping on his drink. "No, nothing that really seems unusual for a bar."

-"Wrong. That guy in the corner is waiting for me, but he's pretty obvious. Now what can you tell me about the guy closest to us at the bar?"

Jinora eyed him up closely, while Korra took another swig of her beer. "He could be a cop?"

She just smiled. "Wrong, he's just a normal guy. Cops always stand out more than that guy, and for that matter, they never show themselves around these parts anyway. Trust me, they are  _not_  your biggest concern."

"What do you mean?"

-"How often do you see a police car around here? Never. Even if you do, they always drive with the windows up and the doors locked. They only do it to let us know they still exist, but realistically, they are more scared of us than we are of them. If they try anything, they would be mobbed, and probably hung out to dry. Either that, or they would start a massive riot. If they wouldn't bother doing those little drive-throughs, no one would notice, much less care."

"Well, guess that solved itself. What would be my biggest concern though?"

-"Other gangbangers. Not everyone is as noble as Iroh's crew, so you need to be on the lookout for people who'll try to stick you up. Do remember this though: no amount of money is worth your life. Yeah, Iroh would be pissed if you come back empty-handed, but he'll get over it." Korra took the last swig of her beer. "Now watch and learn." She got up, and walked over to the guy in the corner. He took a couple of crumpled bills from his pocket, and Korra handed him a small pouch under the table. Shiro either didn't see it, but more likely, he didn't care. Korra and her *ahem* client both walked away from the table, Korra back to Jinora, and the other guy left.

"Just like that?" Jinora asked. It surprised her how quickly and simple it went, but then again, he was one of Korra's regulars.

She gave Jinora a cocky nod. "Just like that," she confirmed. "Come on, finish your beer, we got a couple of more stops like this one to make before we hit The Triangle Club. That is where I make my biggest deal, so that is the place we really want to go. Plus, it has the most pleasant view, so it's as good a place as any to finish the night."

Jinora tried to drink her beer quickly, but wasn't a well-practiced drinker like Korra. One of the guys from the group peeled off, and walked to them, taking the seat next to Korra. "Hey there, honey," he slyly said, but Korra clearly wasn't amused by this.  _Boy, if looks could kill, we would be calling a hearse, not an ambulance._

-"What?" she curtly replied.

-"Easy, I'm not here for that, but I was wondering... if you could hit me and my friends up?"

Kora raised an eyebrow at him. "Depends. Have you got cash?"

He produced a couple of yuan bills from his pocket, and Korra quickly counted them, nodding in confirmation. "This should be enough for the lot of you," she said, while taking two pouches out of her pocket.

-"Now who can I say hooked me up with this?"

A small grin appeared on Korra's face. "Tell 'em The Avatar came through for you. Other than that, we never did business."

The guy nodded, and walked back to his table, where he was met with a cheer from his friends.

Jinora put her bottle down again as Korra turned back to her. "Come on, we should get going. We can't stop like this at every place, so the next few are just business. Not to worry, I have a special deal with the owner of The Triangle Club. We can drink on his tab." Korra walked outside, and Jinora followed her.

"I'm pretty sure I don't want to drink anymore tonight. How drunk can I get before I won't remember what happened?"

Korra chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't let it get that far. But there is an unofficial rule, namely that you should at least make it a little bit enjoyable, unless you want to burn out before you hit twenty. We are doing this my way, or you can go back home."

Jinora thought for a bit. "Njalright. Whatever you say, I guess."

She felt Korra's calming hand on her shoulder. "Hey, if you really don't want to, you don't have to. It's still your call, and you shouldn't let me or anyone else tell you what to do. It's not, as they say, mandatory."

Jinora smiled. "Nah, you're probably right. I shouldn't get too worked up about something small like this, if what Iroh said is true."

-"It is. By the way, this is our next stop." Korra preceded Jinora into one of the shittiest looking buildings she had ever seen, and they quickly made a few more sales. Before Jinora really knew what was happening, they had spent an entire evening like this and they were on their merry way to The Triangle Club. Korra stopped her before they even reached the door. "Now Jin, there are two things you still need to know. One, this is not a nightclub, but a skin joint."

Jinora raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. She had a sneaking suspicion of this place already, and Korra just confirmed that suspicion. "And what is the second thing?" she asked, genuinely curious.

-"I think you'll find that out soon enough," was Korra's vague answer. Jinora threw her a chastising look, but Korra ignored that. She continued stepping towards the entrance of The Triangle Club.

Much to Jinora's surprise, the bouncer was female, but had a hard stoical look in her eyes that told Jinora she meant business. "Evening Korra. Here again for Varrick's shipment?"

-"Yeah. I'm taking Jin here with me, and she's eighteen, don't worry."

Zhu Li suspiciously eye Jinora up, not in the least convinced by Korra. "I'm going to have to see some identification for that."

"Fair enough," Jinora confidently said, once again producing her ID card. The bouncer looked from the card to Jinora and back multiple times, but she ultimately did nod. She handed it back to Jinora, and turned to Korra. "I trust that you'll keep her out of trouble?"

-"Of course I will, Zhu Li."

"Alright, go on."

Korra nodded, and Zhu Li stepped aside to let the girls in. She first stepped to a locker, pulling a gun out of the pocket of her hoody, much to Jinora's shock. "Fuck, you've been walking around with that thing all this time?!"

-"Well, I've been glad that I did more than once, so yeah," she casually said while unloading the gun and putting it in a locker. "Like I said, other gangbangers are your biggest concern, and if they carry, well, the best defense is to carry yourself. It's one of the things I still have to go get you."

This really threw Jinora off her rocker. "What? Are you saying I have to get a gun?"

-"No, I'm going to get you one, and you are going to take it. I will not send you out there without proper protection, but now is not the time to discuss this. We have one more item of business." Korra walked into the club proper, and Jinora took the first sight in. It had a distinct pink-purple-ish glow to it, and there were bouncers at every corner. Unsurprisingly, the men were mostly huddled around the center stage, around the most popular girl. Even for her untrained eye, Jinora had to admit, that girl was quite sexy. Korra seemed to agree, she was practically drooling on the spot as she watched her dance.  _Guess that explains._  Before trying to snap Korra out of it, Jinora took a closer look at the rest of the girls, when she saw something that she absolutely didn't want to see.

Opal was dancing on one of the smaller tables, wearing nothing more than the tiniest pair of panties Jinora had ever seen and a couple of pieces of electrical tape to cover her nipples.  _Fuckin' hell._  "Damn it Korra! Why didn't you tell me Opal is a stripper here?!"

Korra snapped out of her trance and sighed. "Because you didn't need to know. I didn't know she was on tonight, I was kind of hoping she would have been back at our place now."

"And let me guess: the thing you didn't tell me was that you are secretly gay."

-"Wha... Was I staring at Asami?"

"Yeah you were, practically drooling. Now where are we supposed to go?"

Korra pointed to the back, where Jinora saw a man in a suit, making a small gesture towards them, presumably meant for Korra. They made their way through the crowd of men to the far side of the club, where the man directed them up the stairs into his office overlooking the club. He made himself comfortable on his desk chair, propping his feet up on his desk. "So, Korra, care to make the introductions?"

-"How rude of me," she sarcastically said. "Jin, this is Varrick, the owner of this joint and my most profitable client, Varrick, this is Jin, my new best friend."

-"Meaning you have to show her the works?"

Korra nodded. "I didn't make it up either." She reached into her backpack, and threw a large bag of pills onto Varrick's desk. " _Anyway_ ," she loudly continued. "I didn't come here to talk about how I spend my free time, I came here to make some money."

Varrick smiled. "Good point, but that's why were all here." He reached into a drawer of his desk, pulling out a large bundle of money and handed it to Korra. She counted it, and held out her hand to him, which he shook.

-"Pleasure doing business with you, Varrick."

-"Likewise, Avatar." He glanced at Jinora. "I take it you're gonna drink on my tab too?"

Jinora shuffled with her feet. "That was kind of the plan."

He thought for a while, twirling his mustache as he did. "Alright. One condition though: you two have to help the Fabulous Dealing Brothers. Make a few initial sales, send my patrons in the right direction, you know the drill. After that, the bar is all yours, and so is Asami." He smiled at Jinora again. "Want me to send a girl your way too?"

"No thanks, I'm good," Jinora said sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

-"Hey, there's no shame in batting for the other team." Varrick said. "But girls, it's time you stop putting this off, and start making me some money. Have a drink, send the Brothers my way, then you help them out." He held his hand out towards the door, gesturing for them to leave, which they did. When the door fell shut behind them, Jinora got curious. "Who are the Dealing Brothers?"

"Mako and Bolin." Korra smiled. "Basically muscle for the highest bidder, and for the longest time now, Varrick has been the highest bidder. There is not a lot of shit that will scare those two off, so they do all of his dirty work. The bouncers are kept on a leash, but those two don't play by the same rules, hence why they handle the... extra business that I provide them with."

Jinora smiled, and Korra opened the door to let them back into the main area of the club. Korra signaled two guys to go to Varrick's office, and Jinora saw the tallest of the two nod. After this, she made a beeline for the bar, holding up two fingers to the barman. He quickly delivered two shots to the ladies, and Korra leaned in to warn Jinora. "This is strong stuff, so brace yourself." Even though she had prepared herself for the worst, it turned out not to be so bad. Sure, it was hideously sweet, but at least it didn't feel like someone had poured lighter fluid down her throat.

"You said it was strong stuff, but this doesn't feel strong at all."

Korra scoffed. "Yeah, that's just because of the sugar. You'll start to feel it in a moment, trust me on that."

Jinora decided not to argue with Korra on that, given that she would probably be right. They hung around for a while, and she was indeed starting to feel a little woozy, when she noticed the girl who was dancing center-stage earlier was walking towards them. She wrapped an arm around Korra, and whispered something in her ear that made her blush. Jinora figured she must have offered Korra a lap dance of sorts, but she declined.  _For now, at least._

The girl walked off again, moving on to some middle-aged guy who was about twenty kilos too heavy. Jinora felt Korra tapping on her shoulder, signaling that the Fabulous Dealing Brothers were ready for them. They went back to the quiet hallway of Varrick's office, where they could talk things out. Korra quickly introduced her to Mako and Bolin, and gave her some last minute instructions.

-"Remember, 30 yuans per bag, no other deals. Just get me or Bolin to tell them off if they try anything you don't want them to," Mako reassured Jinora. "Let's start you off with... let's say five bags, sounds fair?"

She nodded, taking the tiny bags from him. There were two pills in each of them, and she had to sell them in a packed club. But it could be a lot worse. In here, she had three people watching her back, as the Fabulous Dealing Brothers seemed trustworthy, not to mention the bouncers if anyone would try anything stupid. "Let's do this."

-"Just hang back by the far wall, I'll send a few your way. Money is going to the same place regardless of who makes it." Korra smiled, and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Well, let's make your first sale. Just keep your head down and eyes open, and you'll be fine."

"I will. Thanks, Korra." They all walked out, making their way through the club in all cardinal directions. Jinora would hang back by a wall overlooking the bar, but out of the line of sight of the speakers, meaning the music wasn't so ear-strummingly loud over there, which was a nice change of pace. It didn't take long before the first guy walked up to her. He looked like he was in his early twenties, and really, he was quite handsome.  _Could be a lot worse._

-"You don't look like you work here," he slyly opened.

"Only off the record." She was acting confident, but in reality, her heart was pounding in her chest. To say that she was nervous would be a bit of an understatement.

This got the guy smiling. "So you're one of those? You can hit me up?" Jinora gave him a small nod at this. "How much would it cost me?"

"30 for two. Non-negotiable."

He nodded, pulling out the money out of his pocket, looking around carefully before handing it over. Jinora took one of the bags out of the pocket of her hoodie, and discreetly slipped it into his hand. He smiled, gave her a wink, and was on his way again.

Jinora let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.  _Holy shit. This is actually what it's like._  It felt exhilarating to actually being making some progress in her plan, even if she would have to give up all the money at the end of the evening again. Or maybe it was from actually breaking the law. She had always been a goody-two shoes, keeping up her grades, eating her vegetables, and going to bed early. But now here she was, dealing drugs in a strip club under a false name for a man she wouldn't trust in a million years. Maybe that was the more exciting part about this.

She sure hoped it wasn't.

It was surprisingly easy for her to get through the five bags that Mako had given her. Each one felt weird to her, like she was working against everything she had accomplished in her life so far, but that same excited feeling was constantly there. When she went to Mako for more though, he turned her away, saying that he and Bolin would take care of the rest, and that she should be hitting up the bar with Korra, so they both handed over the money to Mako, and made for the bar.

-"To a successful first night," Korra said, holding up her tiny glass. Jinora clinked hers against it, and threw back the sickeningly sweet liquid in one gulp, and put the glass back down. "I'll say," she smirked in response. Korra briefly checked her phone for the time, noticing that it was already late.

-"What do you say, time to go home?"

Jinora was feeling pretty light-headed from all of the alcohol, and decided that Korra was probably right. She should head home before she got completely shit-faced. Korra ordered them each a bottle of water, making sure they could drink something, helping to prevent the hangover. She got her gun back from the locker, and they started making their way back to the den.

When they walked back into Iroh's office, he looked almost  _surprised_  to see that Jinora was still with Korra. He quickly pulled himself together though, straightening his face and giving an appreciative nod. "So... You actually made it through the evening."

Jinora simply smiled, and gave him a confident nod. "Of course I did. Didn't Korra tell you that I see things through once I'm committed?"

-"Of course she did, otherwise you wouldn't even have been here. I only deal with people who take things like this seriously."

He eyed her up, but once again, she didn't falter. The tension between them was rising, so Korra decided to break them up before Jinora said something stupid. "So Iroh, I have your money," she said, throwing the bundle of cash Varrick gave her onto his desk, along with the money she made from the other deals. He looked away from Jinora just a little too late to feel natural to her, she could feel that, even with the numbing effects of the alcohol. After counting the money, he handed Korra a part of it, tucking the rest away safely.

-"I think this concludes our business for tonight. Now ladies, if you'd please," Iroh said, gesturing to the door, not so subtly telling them to fuck off. When they were outside again, Jinora scoffed.

"I thought you said he was a decent guy? He's an asshole!"

-"Hmm, I probably should have said that he is decent, dot dot dot, for a drugdealer." Korra stopped her by the shoulder, grabbing both of them firmly, looking her straight in the eyes. "Jinora, I want you to remember this very carefully. Iroh is a bastard. When people get in his way, he doesn't send them an angry letter, he kills them. Whenever you're around him, you need to keep both eyes open, and never,  _ever_ , turn your back on him. He will not hesitate to put a bullet in you if you are the one to get in his way. He won't do that quickly, but he will do it of he thinks that is what's necessary."

For the first time, Jinora felt a pang of fear go through her. "How can I prevent that?"

-"By not getting on his bad side. You do what he says, when he says, and you should be good. It's why I am still in business with him."

"By being his bitch, basically."

Korra's eyes sharpened. "I'm no one's bitch. I know the terms on which I am working with him, and he sticks to them too. Likewise, you said you're not in here to sell yourself, which he won't force you to do, but if you try to screw him over, he will come after you, or worse. But if you stay on his good side, you've got nothing to worry about. He might have a temper and mood swings, but he is never beyond reasonable."

Jinora sighed, not feeling so confident with her decision to join Korra anymore, but she wasn't about to let her on to that little fact. "Alright. I guess I just have to keep my head down."

-"Just take it easy, and you have nothing to worry about." They were nearly back at Jinora's apartment, where they would split again. The rest of the way there was silent, with a bit of tension hanging between the girls.

When they did arrive, Jinora turned to Korra once again. "Look, Korra, I... I wanted to say thanks, for taking me along with this. For being cool with it."

Korra sighed. "You didn't really give me a choice. Like I said, I'm not going to let you go out there without someone covering your ass. Now you get to bed, and I'll be in touch."

She walked off again, and Jinora went back inside as quietly as possible. She hung her clothes in the bathroom, considering they probably smelled like smoke, sweat, and beer, and she wouldn't want to disturb Ikki and her mom too much with that. She slipped back into her room, not bothering with pajamas, instead keeping it to her simple tank top and panties. The night had been long, and the morning was promising to be bad.


	5. More Equal Than Others

Jinora sighed, and slipped her typical orange hoodie on, which could only mean one thing: it was  _that_  time again. She reached under the bed, and took her gun from the board with a bit of space over it, and stuffed it in the front pocket of her hoodie. It was the safest place to store it that she could think of, mostly because her mother would never think to look there.

The loud whine of the vacuum cleaner came from Meelo and Rohan's room, which was good news for Jinora. It gave a her a solid opportunity to leave without anyone noticing, or so she thought. She grabbed her backpack and made for the front door as quickly and quietly as possible.

-"Going somewhere?" her mother's voice came from behind her.

 _Damn it._  "Uhh, yeah, I promised Korra to hang out tonight. Opal has to work a night shift and she didn't feel like being alone all night." To Jinora's knowledge, that was even true. It was very likely for Opal to be working at The Triangle Club now, especially after a short day at the supermarket, which it had been, because they closed up early.

Not that it made her feel any better. She hated lying, especially to her mother, with whom she always used to be honest. They could talk about everything, yet now there was only one small piece of fabric between them and a  _very_  long conversation.

Pema sighed, and thought for a moment, before gesturing over to the dining table. "Sit down."

Jinora hesitated. Iroh wouldn't be happy if she would be late, because that meant her chances of her making any real money would be even slimmer. "I don't know Mom, I kind of want to get going."

-"Korra can wait five more minutes, now  _sit down_ ," she repeated, only a lot firmer this time around.

Jinora realized she couldn't bullshit her way out of this one now, so she had no choice but to sit down beside her mother.

-"I'm worried about you, Jinora. You have been spending an awful lot of time with Korra lately." She fell silent for a bit. "You're not stupid, but neither am I. We both know what she does for a living, and I don't want you to get involved with that."

 _Well, this better sound convincing._  "Do you really think I'd be dumb enough to go along with that? She's a criminal, and who knows what she has been up to outside of... whatever it is she's selling."  _You do, for starters._

Pema frowned. "I don't think you're dumb, but you might be desperate. You want to help, always have done, and I appreciate that, but I would rather... do those things to Toza then see you end up selling drugs."

Jinora sighed and wanted to kick herself.  _Too late, Mom._  Not that it would have mattered, she was going through with this. "I'm not planning on doing that, but I'd also like it a lot better if you wouldn't do that for us. I can get a job on the side somewhere, help out more."

-"No, you worry about making it through school, I'll worry about keeping food on the table." Pema gave Jinora a piercing stare, making sure her message would sink in. She didn't even blink, convincing her mother that she was telling the truth. "Alright, you go to Korra now. And if you're home late again, try not to make a racket like the other night. Deal?"

"Yeah, deal." Jinora stood up, tapping the table as she did. "Right, I'm really going now. Bye mom!" She didn't wait for a reply, quite sure it wouldn't make her feel any better. Her mother really hadn't been in a rush to warn her, and now she was running late.

To make matters even worse, it was raining. Outside of the obvious downside of getting wet, it meant that no one would be on the street to do business with. That also meant she would have to go inside sleazy bars, and much worse, crack-dens that always looked, or rather smelled, like they hadn't been cleaned in years. Jinora had yet to see, or smell, the exception to this.

Iroh went easy on her this time around. He didn't give her any trouble for being late, which was not really like the Iroh Jinora had come to expect. "Expecting much business tonight?"

She had trouble keeping a straight face and not scoffing. "What do you think?" she sarcastically threw back.

-"Don't talk to me like that Jinora, you shouldn't forget who gets you work. But I can safely assume you're not very hopeful right now."

"Pretty much."

He nodded over to whatever passed for the lounge in his office. "The bag on the table should be enough to cover you for the night. If not, well, you can always come back for more. There are always more customers."

Jinora glanced over to the bag and sighed. It was tiny. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." She felt like rolling her eyes, but had the good senses not to do that. "I'll be back later with your money." With one swoop, she grabbed the bag, and threw it in her backpack before she was out the door again. No need to draw any unnecessary attention, if anyone could be bothered to give her any.

Her mood was foul, to say the least. Not only was the rain making it colder than the Northern Water Tribe, Iroh had pretty much just told her to fuck off.  _Passive-aggressive doesn't quite cover it here._  Worst of all, she really wasn't looking forward to going out to meet the people to sell to. What she really needed was a fixed address like Korra had with The Triangle Club, but that wasn't going to happen. All good places like that were already taken by others who had the same bright idea. There was some *ahem*  _circulation_ , but it was slow and a stiff group. Plus, she needed connections for that, and so far, the few strings she could pull on were pretty long.

It went about as well as she thought it would. The few people she did run into who wanted to buy were either being obnoxious, trying to screw her over, or even worse, tried to screw her. Typically, telling them to piss off worked, but there was always  _that_  guy.

Jinora was sitting at the head of the table, with two guys at the far end. It was in the furthest corner of a sleazy-as-shit bar that was mostly empty. She was down to her last three pouches, which meant she could almost go home. This one guy seemed to be interested in buying everything she still had, but something about him rubbed her the wrong way.

"So do you want to do this or not?"

He gave her a smile of yellow and brown teeth, plus numerous holes where they were missing. "Show me the product."

"Show me the money first."

He nodded to his friend, and he threw her a small roll of bills. She counted it, and immediately realized something was off. "This is not what we agreed on. You gave me too much."

-"The rest is for you, since you're a part of the deal." He moved over to her, placing his hand on her leg. She pushed him away, and started to get nervous.

"I'm not part of any deal, back off."

The other guy spoke up. "Honey, you became part of the deal the moment you walked through that door. Now," he said, while he flicked open a switchblade on the table, "we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your call, baby girl."

 _Damn. Good thing I listened to Korra._  Jinora reached into the pocket of her hoodie, clasping her gun tightly. She took a deep breath, mustering up as much fake confidence as she could right now. The adrenaline racing through her veins made it difficult to focus on anything other than the knife, but she managed to tear her eyes away from the object, looking both men in the eyes. "Not to be a stickler for details, but I think you just brought a knife..." she clicked the safety off as loud as she could, trying to scare them off, "to a gun fight."

This seemed to work. They leaned back, clearly not expecting a little girl to be walking around with a gun in her pocket. With her free hand, Jinora reached into her backpack, and threw the last of the drugs on the table. "We can either do this neat, or make it messy. Now I don't know about you, but I prefer neat. So you take the stuff, I walk out of here quietly, and we're golden."

They got the message, took the drugs, and Jinora stuffed the entire roll of money in her front pocket.  _They should have thought about the possibility that I bite back._  "Consider this the last time we do business." She got up, taking her backpack with her, never taking her hand off her gun. She didn't click the safety back on until she was outside again, where she also let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

Finally, Korra's warnings made sense. Even though she hated her gun for what it represented, she sure was glad she had it on her. It gave her some sense of security, especially in a place like that and with figures like those. The cool nickel-plating started to feel reassuring, which was worrying; she didn't want to feel that whenever she reached for it, or brushed past it in her pocket.

Jinora walked into the alley, giving herself a moment to slow her heartbeat down again. She leaned against the wall, collecting her thoughts, as it slowly started to drizzle again. This was her cue to get back to Iroh's.

She dropped herself on the couch in his office, tired of it all. He raised an eyebrow at her, unaccustomed to the slacking attitude she was showing here. "Long night?"

"You can say that again. Made a few extra bucks along the way, you should like that." Iroh walked over to his lounge, took the bag from Jinora, and sat himself down in the chair across from her. He looked surprised. "You actually sold it all? I thought you said it would be a slow night."

"I thought so too, but there you go. It's still not much," Jinora remarked, not entirely happy with the catch of the night. She handed Iroh the money, and he counted it, and then recounted it.

-"Why is it so much? How did you do that?"

Jinora scoffed. "Bunch of guys thought they could get me as part of the deal, so I had to force them to stop. Remind me to thank Korra for this," she said while pulling out her gun and placing it on the table. "Say, have you got some cigarettes in here? I'm starving."

He laughed at this, and stood up. "That's a bad habit to have, Jin, and I should be feeling bad for giving you these," he said while taking a box and a lighter from a drawer in his desk and handing them to Jinora.

"Well, add it to the list," she snidely threw back while lighting one up. For the first time tonight, she felt the stress melt away while she contently leaned back into the old but still comfortable couch. Jinora blew the smoke straight up, and finally felt like she could relax.

Iroh came back around, and handed Jinora her share of what she had sold. She flicked through it, and even though he had included the extra she made (Iroh held on to a fixed percentage of what he bought it in for) it was not that much. Jinora sighed, and put it in her pocket.

-"What are you sighing about? You just made a nice bit of money."

"Are you kidding me? This is bullshit money. I just spent the entire evening out on the streets in the pouring rain, and I get  _this_  out of it. I want something better than this, considering the risk I'm taking."

-"Can't help you there. You knew the terms when you signed on, and I'm not about to make an exception for you because your life sucks. We're all equally fucked out here."

"But some are more equal than others. Come on, you've been in this business for years, surely you know more than I do. What about a fixed address, some place to take a large load to on a regular basis?"

Iroh laughed her comment away. "Are you kidding me, Gyatso? Don't you think that if I knew about a place like that, I'd have Korra or Tahno checking it out already? I know you're referring to Korra's little deal at The Triangle Club, but those kinds are rare." He was interrupted by loud footsteps coming up the stairs, followed by Korra half-drunkenly barging into the room. "Speak of the devil..." Iroh smirked.

"And she shall appear," Jinora finished for him. Korra unceremoniously dropped herself next to Jinora on the couch, and held out her hand for a pull of Jinora's cigarette.

-"Hmm, didn't know lesbians wanted to smoke after sex too, but there you go," Iroh sarcastically remarked while raising an eyebrow.

-"Hey, there are kids here!"

"Please Korra, don't embarrass yourself here," Jinora remarked. "You smell like cheap perfume and there's lipstick on your neck, it's not very hard to tell."

-"Well, no need to make this anymore awkward than it already is, so yeah, I did, but at least I made some money while I was at it." Jinora scoffed. "Or at her," she muttered under her breath. Iroh didn't hear it, but Korra did, and playfully smacked her on the shoulder.

Jinora smiled back, and looked how Korra repeated the exchange of the money with Iroh. She got her cut, safely stuffing it away next to her gun. Meanwhile, the younger girl took the last pull of her cigarette, and put the butt in the ashtray on the table. "So anyway, would you please think about what I asked you, Iroh? I need something, anything that might be a bit more lucrative than this."

He thought for a while, before nodding. "You know what Jinora? You're right."

This took her by surprise, and the same went for Korra. "I am?"

-"She is?"

Iroh smiled. "Yes, when you're selling the same product as Korra, you're only competing with each other, and that's not helping any of us. I've had my eye on something new for a while, and I think I could get that for you. Diversification and all that."

It sounded promising if nothing else, but there was something that had Jinora a little worried. "What stopped you from jumping in earlier?"

-"There is always an inherent risk to delivering a new product to the streets. It won't be just you who'll be trying to get a foothold in the new market, so if you're going to do this, you'd best keep your guard up. But if you can pull it off, well, you'll have the monopoly on it."

Jinora smiled. "I'm already taking risks now, so might as well have them pay off. Count me in."

-"Then I'll make some calls. You just be on standby, I should have something for you by next week."

_That's. More. Like it._


	6. The First Airbender

A D+. Jinora could hardly believe it. She couldn't even remember the last time she failed a test, if she ever failed one to begin with.

-"And remember class, pages 104 through 111 for next Tuesday. If you don't prepare it, you won't be able to keep up with what I'm going to explain," Mr. Karu said right after the bell went. The entire class groaned, and packed up their stuff to leave. "Jinora, could you come over here for a minute?" He stopped her right before she walked out.

"But I have to go to my next class, Unalaq will have my head if I'm late."

-"This won't take long."

She hesitantly walked over to his desk, taking the seat directly opposite of him. "I imagine this is about my grade?"

-"Correct. Jinora, you're not the type to get D's. In my experience, if you're in it, you're in it to win it. Now if it was just one grade, I wouldn't have worried about it. Everyone has an off-day every now and again, but that wasn't the case here. I've done some asking around, and other teachers are reporting the same sort of thing about you. Your grades have been plummeting, and Mrs. Beifong is telling me that while she used to keep the library open longer so that you could stay, nowadays, you hardly ever show up there anymore. Is there something going on in your personal life that's making this happen?"

_Yeah, you can say that again._  Jinora sighed. "I've just had a lot to wrap my head around as of late, and haven't been able to find as much time to study as I used to."

-"Look, if you don't want to talk about it with me, that's fine, I'm your teacher, not your best friend. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see you succeed, so I will urge you to work past whatever it is that's pulling you down. You can do this, Jinora, you've proven as much in the past. You are more than capable of passing my course, so I sincerely hope that this is the last time I have to fail you for a test." He briefly paused, and Jinora nodded. "Alright, you run along now. And blame me if Unalaq gives you trouble."

Jinora made for her algebra class quickly, just in time before the next bell rang.

Later that day, her classes were over, and she was on her way to the library to study until dinner, determined not to get another D for her next test. That was when she heard a phone ringing, and it took her a while before she remembered that it was hers. Korra had got herself a new one, and given Jinora her old phone so they could stay in touch, and didn't have to do everything in person.

"Hey Korra, what's up?"

-"We need you, at the den, now."

This struck her dumb. Normally, Iroh planned everything ahead, he wouldn't throw this stuff on her without some prior warning, not to mention time to prepare. "But I'm still school, I have to study, not to mention that I'm not packing now. Can't this wait?"

"No, we have some business to discuss, and this can't wait. Not if we want to get on top of things now, so get your ass over here."

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can." She hesitated. On the one hand, she had been forsaking her studying already in order to be on the streets, and so far, the reward had been minimal. On the other hand, Korra sounded serious, and she wouldn't have called her over if it wasn't truly important.  _There might actually be something to this._  Jinora took a deep breath, turned around, and made her way to the den at a considerable pace. When she stepped inside, Korra and Iroh were studying a map of the Dragon Flats Borough. "Ah, Jinora, glad to see you've made it," Iroh said. "Well, I'm a man of my word, and here's what you asked for." He threw her a bag of powder, and it looked just like what she had already been selling, but apparently it was something else.

"What am I supposed to make of this?"

-"It's the newest thing from the Western Air Nation, and they call it Glide. It's supposed to have the same effects as smack, only it makes you feel like you're flying. This is what I had been working on, and you're going to sell it. What Korra and I are trying to do is figure out where you should stop." He turned back to the map, pointing out something on it. "So no others between the banks?"

-"No, as long as we keep it over 86th, there shouldn't be any trouble," Korra informed him. "Heavy Terra Triad activity over there, and they won't like us poking around out there. Then we have the Agni Kai's who are calling the shots from 110th up, so as long as we stay within this part of town, we should be fine."

Jinora joined them around the map. "I take it you're trying to figure out where to sell this stuff?"

-"Yes, now pay attention, you're taking point on this."

"Taking point? What do you mean?"

-"Military jargon. Means you'll be the first one of us to try and sell this. With a bit of luck, you'll be the first to all the crackhouses, and you'll be making big bucks without so much as breaking a sweat."

_This is certainly a step in the right direction._  "Are you being serious here? You really did come through for me?"

Iroh smiled. "Yes of course I did, like I said, I'm a man of my word. Now, it won't be as easy as before, since this is more addictive, meaning the people you're selling to will be in worse shape. They'll also be more likely to try and take it by force, so you gotta be on your toes, and never go out without packin' heat."

"I already do that. Korra assured me that it would be a bad idea to do otherwise."

-"Damn straight I did," Korra said. "Now come take a look at this map. Everything between these lines is where we can safely sell without having to worry about the other major triads. There are a few splinter groups here, and those are the people that tend to stir up a lot of trouble for us."

"Splinter groups? I don't follow."

Iroh stepped in. "Minor gangs, sometimes consisting only of a few people. They are often absorbed by bigger ones, like I did with a bunch of people calling themselves The Red Lotus. Four people, and they are very productive for me. Bunch of assholes maybe, but they are lucrative."

"Goodie. But what does this really matter to me? I take it they won't be my competition, given that even you had your fair share of difficulties getting this stuff here."

He hesitated for a moment. "Yes I did, but let me worry about supplying you. You worry about not getting your ass shot."

Jinora nodded. "I'm on it. So when do I start with this?"

-"Tonight," Korra said. "We're going to do a quick sweep of the city together, see if we can dig up a few places that might be interested. I'll leave the sales pitching to you, but I'm not above helping you out a little."

This made her smile.  _Always looking out for you._  "Thanks Korra, I appreciate that."

Korra smiled back. "Don't mention it. Now go eat something, and be back here at eight. Remember to bring the rain."

"Will do, Korra. See you later."

_Now we're getting somewhere._  That was the thought most prevalent in Jinora's mind on her way home. If Iroh was telling the truth, which he almost certainly was, this might very well be the break she had been waiting for. She would finally start making enough to get her mother out of Toza's grip. Last week had been the only time they had talked about him since Jinora walked in on them, and by all indications, he wasn't going to stop any time soon.

When Jinora stepped inside, Pema was already cooking their dinner, much to her surprise. "Hey Mom. Are we eating early today?"

-"Yeah, Tu just called, asked me if I could cover his nightshift at the restaurant. I said yes, we could really do with the money, but the trade-off is that we eat early. Small price to pay, if you ask me."

"I guess so. Actually, this is good for me, hang on for a moment." Jinora turned around and pulled out her phone, texting Korra that that they could meet earlier, get even more of a head start.

-"What is that?" Pema asked, but she soon realized it. "Is that a  _phone_?!"

Jinora sighed. "Yes, Mom, it is. Korra gave me her old phone so I could go along with the times. You know, keep in touch with people." She ignored her mother's disapproving sigh, fled into her room, and spent the next half hour pouring over bone-dry chemistry, fairly successful at comprehending what it was about. She knew what she was doing, but that didn't mean it was easy. Eventually though, Pema called them all over for dinner, and Jinora looked at the clock. Half past six. _Perfect. Means you still have some light while scoping out the city._

Dinner went over quick, and her mother soon made for the restaurant, leaving Jinora free to go back to the den without having to lie to her. Once she was fully ready to go, she made sure to give her sister some last minute instructions. "Now Ikki, I expect you to put Meelo and Rohan to bed in time, unlike the last time I left this to you."

-"Hey, it's not my fault they didn't listen to me! And where are you even going? You keep leaving at night, but you're never saying what for," Ikki said, getting frustrated with her older sister.

"I have a life, you know. I don't owe it to you or anyone here to tell you about my every move."

Ikki groaned loudly, making no attempt at hiding her displeasure. "Fine. But I will tell mom about this."

"Go nuts." Jinora paced away, leaving a frustrated sister in her wake.

Korra was already waiting for her at the den, and was ready to go. "Here, she said, while sticking out a small pouch of the new stuff. "Stick it in your bra, make them feel special when you hand it over. You're going to need it at some point." Korra smirked. "I've already got one, so let me use mine first." Jinora raised an eyebrow at her friend's weird habit, but decided not to question it.

"So do you have any idea where we should go? I mean, Iroh said it, completely different market, right?"

-"I know a few people who went from bad to worse, but they are not so far gone that you can't get anything sensible out of them. They can point us in the right direction, maybe we can even make a few sales."

They came up to a bridge, and Korra 'took point', as Iroh very efficiently put it.  _Apparently it's contagious._  "Yo, Gommu! Are you here, I want to make a deal with you!"

A bum came walking out, and to Jinora it looked like he had been on the streets for a while. His beard had become quite impressive, if disgusting, and by the looks of things, he hadn't changed out of those clothes since he put them on. "Hello there Avatar, what do you want?" he asked.

Korra looked at Jinora, who took over. "What we want is a bit of information. In exchange, you get this," and right on cue, Korra pulled the pouch from her bra, sticking it out to Gommu. "Should be your thing," she simply added. "Put it in a needle, and the rest you can figure out."

He reached out for it, but she pulled it back before he could grab it. "You get this  _if_  you can tell us where we can sell more of this shit."

Gommu looked disappointed, but gave in. "There's an old motel on Omashu, closed down a few years ago. There are always people there who would be happy to buy." He reached out again, trying to take the pouch from Korra. Jinora found her hand once again gripping her gun, even if it happened subconsciously.

Jinora knew he was holding back on them somehow. She didn't know how, but there was something he wasn't telling us. "Look, this is new stuff, it's expensive, it'll make you fly, and we're prepared to give it to you for information. Do better."

He sighed again. "Alright, there are two more I places I know. Do you know the Little Ba Sing Se Mall?" Jinora and Korra nodded in unison, as it was pretty much  _the_  place to go, whether it was to hang out or do some shopping.  _And add dealing drugs to that list too, apparently. Though come to think of it, that might just explain their loyal clientele._  "Once you in, take your left, and walk all the way to the back, to the emergency exit. Behind that, there are usually some people on the lookout to buy, and no heat to worry about."

Jinora raised an eyebrow. "That's more like it. What's the last place?"

-"It's a crack house on the corner Gaoling and 95th, but I know them guys. They have a supplier, and they are them loyal types, you know? You can scope it out, but your chances there are not good."

"I'll keep it in mind," Jinora replied, and Korra handed him his pouch.

-"So who is working with you, Avatar? Maybe I could be interested in... more business?"

Korra smiled. "She's working on it. Good seeing you again Gommu, and take it easy on the new shit."

Korra and Jinora walked away from the bum, making sure they were out of his earshot before Jinora started talking again. "What was he talking about, and what did you mean by 'she's working on it'?"

-"That's the one thing you still need: a name. You can't go by your real name, or even by the fake one Iroh got you on your ID. And even if, you don't get to choose your own nicknames: you have to earn it, just like your reputation. So if you spin this new business with Glide right, you could get something out of it."

"So how did you get yours?" Jinora asked, curious how Korra would ever end up as 'The Avatar'.

Korra scoffed. "Some religious nutjob fell off the wagon, and I supplied him with a weekly doses. He became obsessed with me, and was convinced I was some sort of divine incarnation of some god. Not really my thing, but it stuck, and it could be a lot worse."

"And what about Iroh? Everyone knows him as The General, right?"

This got Korra a little doubting. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and took a deep breath. "Well, he wasn't a general, but he is ex-military. He was a captain if I'm not mistaken, but the details is something he'd rather I didn't tell you. All you need to know is this: I am reasonably certain this stuff will get you one for yourself in the very near future. You just have to exercise a touch of patience." Korra smiled. "Your father taught me that."

"I was just about to say, that doesn't sound like you  _at all_ ," Jinora laughed with her.

They were quickly coming up on the old motel. It had closed down a few years ago, when the City had rendered the building in too poor a condition to keep open for business. They had ordered the owner to demolish it, but without any money to do so or to make renovations, it had been rotting there ever since, becoming a refuge for all sorts of people the City denies existing. It was a U-shaped building, stretching out around them, with gantries on all sides. Jinora saw a few curtains open and people peeking out of them, and suddenly felt uneasy. "How do we know we can trust these people?" she whispered, more concerned than she was about to let on. "They have the high ground, and there's only two of us."

-"Most of these people are too high to even hold a gun, let alone aim one. Just wait."

They sat down on a bench, softly illuminated by the lantern on the street, a good 30 yards away. Once again, Korra proved that she knew what she was talking about. A door in the far corner opened, and someone who looked to be in terrible shape walked out. On closer inspection, it was a woman, but for the life of her, Jinora couldn't tell how old she was. She was  _far_  too thin, and even in the dim light, she could tell that her skin was breaking. "Evening," Jinora opened flat.

-"Have you got some smack for me?" the woman asked, her voice shaky. "I have money..." she proved this by producing a few bills from her pocket.

Jinora took them from her, counting them, and contently nodded. "You're talking to the right people." She took a pouch of Glide out of her backpack, making sure to keep it out of the line of sight from the street.

-"Thank you," she quietly murmured, and shuffled back to her room in the corner.

"Just like that, huh?" Jinora said to Korra, raising an eyebrow.

-"Just like that," Korra smirked back.

Clearly a few people had seen them, because soon, people came out of rooms left and right, all asking them for the product. They made a large amount of money in a small amount of time, but there was a flip side. All the people they did business with looked exactly alike: all with sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, bad skin, and clothes that should have been replaced years ago. It was rubbing Jinora completely the wrong way. Ever since she was a little girl, she had wanted to be a doctor, helping people wherever she could. Now though, the only thing she was helping these people with, was getting high on their one-way ticket to death.

She sighed as she looked into her backpack, with only a few pouches left, but there were no more junkies coming to them. "Want to try the Mall?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Jinora really wanted to go home, but she was committed now, and she didn't have a choice anymore.

-"Nah, that's all the way on the other end of the borough, and it's closed anyway. We could give the den on Gaoling a shot, maybe they can be swayed if you make a little investment."

Jinora nodded, deciding once again that she'd better listen to Korra.

The den was easy to find, even with Gommu's vague description. Once they had the right building, all they had to was follow their noses. They let themselves in, given how there was no lock on the door. The two-story building was somehow in  _even worse_  shape than the motel they had just come from, and the only occupants seemed to be asleep, given that it was dark and they were probably high off their ass already.

"I don't know about this place, let's split," Jinora said, nudging Korra in the elbow. But by the time they had turned around, there was a man standing in the door, holding a gun in his right hand. "What the fuck are you doing here?!" he yelled, raising his gun to them.

"Whoa, no need for that thing!" Jinora said, raising her hands. "We're here to look for some business. Perhaps you would be... interested?"

He lowered his gun, but raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're talking to the right guy, but you don't look like you're here to buy, which means you're here to sell. I already have someone to do that for me, so get lost."

-"Just hear us out for a moment," Korra tried, in a calmer tone. This gave them a moment to properly eye him up. He was a large man, with long hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. In spite of the state of his house, he looked like he took proper care of himself, making sure he was taken seriously. "We're not exactly selling the usual stuff. This is a brand new import." She nodded over to Jinora, who took the pouch Korra gave her earlier out of her bra and handed it over to him. "Free sample," the younger girl simply added. "Should be enough for a four or five hour flight."

-"I never fly out of here."

"I don't mean on a plane."

He smiled, understanding what she meant. "Thank you. I'll consider it, but I make no promises. I'll have someone try it out, and you can come back tomorrow to see if we can make an arrangement."

"Gladly," Jinora replied, happy to learn that she might actually make some money. "By the way, what do I call you?"

-"You can call me The Innkeeper, if you must." Jinora looked confused, and he put her at ease. "Now off you go. I have some business to take care of."

"You know what, we should," Jinora remarked. "I'll be back tomorrow to hear what you thought." With that, she turned around, and quickly walked out, totally done with the place that smelled like vomit, among  _other_  things. Not only that, but this man just made her feel uneasy. He wasn't impolite, or even in bad shape compared to most people she had come across tonight, but it still didn't feel quite right to her. Korra soon followed her, and they went back to Iroh's den, eager to distribute the profits and see what they made.

It turned out to be good.

Korra informed Iroh of the motel, and decided it'd be best to keep the den on Gaoling quiet, just in case it turned out to be nothing. They each got their fair share of cash, which was always nice. If this was the first of bigger paychecks to come, she would finally get something out of it.

The girls were walking home again, and Jinora felt hesitant. "Korra, I kind of want to ask you something..."

-"What is it?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"To come with me again tomorrow to Gaoling. I know, I'm probably being paranoid, but that guy, The Innkeeper... he just made me feel uneasy."

Korra sighed. "Look Jinora, I agreed to watch your back, but I'm not going to hold your hand all the way through. You have to stand on your own at some point."

"I know, I know, it's just... I don't know, it just doesn't feel right to me." She fell silent for a moment. "Will you do this for me this once? Please?"

Korra thought for a moment, before nodding. "Alright, but don't make a habit out of this. If you can be his regular, I'm not going with you every time."

"Thank you."

The next day was a doddle. Saturday meant Jinora could actually relax for a little bit, and managed to spend some actual time studying at the public library. It wasn't as good as the library at school, but still a better place to study than home was for her.

But Jinora could only half focus on her work. Today was kind of going to be a make-or-break situation for her, and she was very curious to see what The Innkeeper had to say, even if there was that niggling little doubt in the back of her mind telling her to walk away while she still could.  _The motel is risky enough as is, not to mention that you are ruining plenty of lives there on your own, no need to cut in a middle-man._

When she met up with Korra towards the end of the afternoon, they slowly slumped over to the corner of Gaoling and 95th, enjoying a late fall sunny day. When they walked in, they fortunately weren't met with a gun in the face again, but instead with The Innkeeper waiting for them. "You kept your word, little lady, so I'll keep mine, he said, inviting them inside again. In there, they met a junkie, who seemed to be spouting nonsense, until he spotted Jinora.

-"Whoa, are you the chick who sold him the new stuff?"

Jinora nodded, and this sent him over the edge. "DUUUUUDE! That shit was totally awesome, I mean, I gotta get more of that, you gotta get me more of that, I mean, shit, that is just sick! I was totally flying man, like shit, you took me gliding, you were like an airbender, lifting me up, it was like awesome, dude..."

He continued on like this for a while, but when Jinora looked over to Korra, she saw a faint smile ghosting over her lips.

-"I'm gonna stop you there," Korra eventually said, breaking his rant up. "It's not up to us, but apparently, we do have at least one fan."

-"Exactly," The Innkeeper continued. "Even though your product seems to be good, I can't just turn my back on my current suppliers, so I'm afraid I have to decline. Sorry ladies."

-"Well, that's too bad," Korra said, and Jinora felt very disappointed. She really did have high hopes for this place. "But in that case, we don't have business here anymore. Come on, let's get out of here," she said as she turned to Jinora and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "But it wasn't a total waste of time, trust me on that," Korra whispered into her ear.

Once they were outside again, Jinora faced her again. "What do you mean?"

-"Your name. That junkie was spouting a lot of bullshit, but there was one thing that made perfect sense to me: from now on, you're The Airbender."

Jinora thought about it, and the longer she did, the bigger her smile became. "The Airbender," she repeated. "I like it."


	7. All Quiet in the Dragon Flats

_**Korra:**  My place, now_

_**Jinora:**  Something happened?_

_**Korra:**  Opal needs us, get down here_

Jinora decided not to waste any more time, so she quickly threw on some warm-ish clothes (A.K.A. her faded orange hoodie with the arrow down her back) and made for Korra's place at a considerable pace. When she got there, she saw Korra and Opal on the couch, with the latter softly crying against Korra's chest, who had her arms firmly wrapped around her roommate.

Jinora sat down next to Korra, and gently ran her fingers through Opal's hair. "What happened?" she whispered into Korra's ear.

-"Toza went all the way," she whispered back, keeping her voice as quiet as possible. "He raped her."

It should be a surprise to Jinora, but truth be told, it wasn't. That didn't make it any easier to grasp, though. She put her hand in front of her mouth, before switching sides and wrapping an arm around Opal too. This seemed to put her at ease somewhat, and she slowly drifted asleep. When they were sure that she actually was, Korra picked her up like she was a child and carried her to bed, tucking her in safely.

-"I need you to stay here," Korra said once they were back in the living room. "Watch over Opal, at least for the time being. I have a point of discussion with Toza."

Jinora's eyes grew wide when she heard this. "Korra, don't. She needs that job, and so does my mom."

-"Are you kidding me?! I'm gonna rip his fucking balls off, right before I put a bullet between his eyes!"

"And then what?" Jinora countered, using her mother's argument. "She'll be out of a job, probably ending up some place worse. I say you go to the police, let them deal with it." She said it, but as soon as the words left her mouth, they caught up with her. Unfortunately, Korra managed to come up with a comeback before she could swallow her own words.

-"Yeah, because the police station is where I really want to go," she said, rolling her eyes. "This needs to be done  _my_ way."

Jinora sighed, and made her decision. "Then I'm going with you."

-"Bullshit. You are  _not_  getting your skinny ass drawn into this. It's gonna get nasty, trust me on that."

"I always do, but right now, someone has to make sure you're not gonna put him under six feet of dirt. Even someone like him is worth more alive than dead."

Korra eyed her up just like Iroh always did, looking for signs of doubt in her. Even though Jinora was doubting, over the past few months, she had become increasingly good at hiding when she was lying. "Alright," she eventually said, still not looking too pleased with it. "But we do this my way, no 'let's try and talk some sense into him'-soft-ass bullshit. I will make sure he regrets what he did to Opal."

Jinora nodded. "That, I am all for."

-"Then I have to make some calls," Korra said, and she took her phone out of her pocket, dialing furiously. Jinora decided to step back into Opal's room, to see if she was holding up. Fortunately, she was still peacefully asleep, probably dead tired of the ordeal she was put through tonight. She lost track of time, sitting in that chair, watching over her friend, until Korra opened the door, signaling her to come out again.

"What did you get?"

-"Wear this," Korra said, holding out a bandana to her. It was a simple design, with three light blue spirals on a black piece of cloth when folded into a triangle, which was the way Korra handed it to her.

"And what am I supposed to do with this?" Jinora cautiously asked.

-"Cover up your face with it, make sure he doesn't recognize you. Come on, Asami will be here any minute now." Korra made her final preparations, but realistically, she was stalling, so she bolted to the door when she heard a knock. Jinora quickly recognized her as the girl who Korra was getting cozy with in the strip club.

Korra quickly explained the situation to her, and when she was done, Asami eyed the two of them up carefully. "You look like you're gearing up, what's that for?"

-"To teach him a lesson," Korra hissed. "Let's go Jin, we gotta make a quick pit stop at The Triangle Club first."

"For what?"

Korra sighed. "Two things: tools, and The Fabulous Dealing Brothers. With stuff like this, there is no such thing as an overabundance of power." Korra made double time towards the club, and they went around the back, where Mako opened the door for them. They walked inside, and Bolin was already waiting for them.

-"Korra, what's going on? You sounded serious yet very vague on the phone."

She thought for a moment. "I need you to trust me here. We are going to hurt someone. Badly. You can't ask me about it, and you can never mention it after tonight."

The brothers were quiet for a while, before Bolin spoke up. "What do you need?"

Korra smiled, and Jinora's lips curled up involuntarily too.  _These are true friends._  "Gloves, duct tape, a blowtorch, heavy-duty pliers, and what I told you over the phone." They nodded, and walked off to collect it all.

Now though, Jinora got worried. "Korra, you said..."

-"I said we were going to teach him a lesson, and it will be one he won't forget for the rest of his life."

"But torture?!"

-"Simple insurance policy, to make sure he won't try it again. You said you want to get him too, but if all you're going to do is bitch and moan about this, I'm leaving you here."

Jinora sighed, realizing that her friend was kind of right here. And most worryingly of all, part of her actually  _wanted_  Toza to get what was coming to him, even if the tools Korra just named made it seem like she was going to take it too far for her liking. A beating, sure he deserved that much, but a  _blowtorch_? That was far beyond Jinora's comfort zone. She weighed her options in her mind. Korra was sitting on an awful lot of rage, and it was going to come out. No way could Jinora let her kill Toza, so she had to be there, even if it was going to be nasty. On top of that, despite her non-violent nature, she wanted to see Toza suffer. "No, I'm going with you," Jinora firmly said.

-"Good, because the brothers are back," Korra said, nodding to the door. Bolin was carrying a blowtorch, a pair of pliers, and a two rolls of heavy-duty tape, while Mako had a relatively small object, which Jinora couldn't quite place. It was about seven inches long, and looked like a rounded cone. "What is that?"

-"This, Jinora, is what you use on a man you really hate, what we are going to do with it at least," Mako casually said. "You'll find out soon enough."

She decided to let it drop, while Mako passed around thin gloves. "Against fingerprints, and these," he said, handing Bolin a bandana too, "are for us. I take it you took care of that, Korra?"

-"Yes I did, now let's roll." Jinora tied the bandana around her face before pulling it down around her neck, making sure it would fit properly when the time came. They walked to the supermarket at a considerable pace, Korra leading the way. They made it to the supermarket just before closing time.

-"Masks and hoods up, we're going in," Korra commanded. Jinora complied, and she had to admit, between the four of them, they looked like they meant business. She looked at her reflection in a car's window, and couldn't help laugh at the sad irony.  _On course to become a doctor, and now you're going to put someone in the hospital._  Once inside, they made for the register, which didn't have a line and only had one astonishingly bored girl behind it. Once she noticed the four of them, Jinora saw the fear in her eyes grow, and she leaned back.

-"I already closed the register," she said, her voice laced with panic. "There is no money!"

-"We're not here for money. You open the door of the break room for us, you walk away."

She quickly nodded, and Korra gestured her towards the door. She punched in the code, and Korra turned to her again. "Go home. You don't want to be here now."

-"Okay," she said with a small voice, and she quickly took off.

They stepped inside, and Jinora pointed them to the door of Toza's office. "The one on the right," she quietly said.

Korra nodded, and threw it open, upon which a Toza stood up. "What are you doing..." he started, but he never got to finish. Korra threw a right hook, landing it square in his face. He stumbled back, falling into his chair, upon which Mako and Bolin quickly went to work. Korra clamped her hands over his mouth, while he was protesting, while the brothers taped his hands to the armrests of the chair. After they were done, Jinora helped them tape his mouth shut, leaving Korra's hands free. She pushed him back a little bit, and Korra pulled up a chair right in front of him, making sure she had his attention. Jinora and the brothers leaned against the desk, making sure they had a good view of Korra and Toza.

-"You hurt someone I care about today. And you already hurt a lot of people I care about as well in the past. I have waited far too long to do this."

Toza made all sorts of muffled sounds, and he most understandable was a semi-distinct 'fuck you' coming out of him.

-"No thanks," Korra said, and Jinora could swear that she was smiling, perfectly content with her remark. "You already did that, and now you're going to pay the price."

What he did next, sent Jinora over the edge. He  _laughed_. She clenched her fist, pushed Korra aside, before she grabbed him by the collar, and was hitting him, not just once, over and over, until she felt someone pull her back. This was the first time she had ever lost control of herself, but  _man_  did it feel good. This bastard would now pay for what he had done to Opal, and what he made her mother and all the other girls do over the years. It wasn't until then that she looked at what she had done. Korra's eyes had grown rather large, and she realized it took both brothers to hold her back. She also took another look at Toza's face, which she had messed up quite badly. There was a trickle of blood coming down from both his left eyebrow as well as from his nose. It was swelling too, which meant she got him good.

That was also about the point where she felt that her hand was hurting quite badly. Jinora had probably sprained a finger of sorts, but right now, the pain was suppressed by the adrenaline. Jinora took a deep breath, steeling herself, and put up a fake voice. "I'm good," she told the brothers, who let her go. She glanced over to Korra. "That was something I have been wanting to do for a long time."

Korra nodded, and turned back to Toza. "Well, since my friend has taken care of that part for me, I guess that leaves me with this." She suddenly stood up, throwing her chair aside. Korra kicked Toza hard in the middle of the chest, making him chair fly backwards, and him landing painfully. What she did next though, had Jinora slightly worried. Korra flicked open a switchblade and leaned in. The younger girl put herself on stand-by to stop her friend, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

With a loud rip, she cut down all the way down his shirt, from the collar to where he had it tucked into his pants. Just like Jinora suspected, Toza's fat, blubbery chest was covered with greasy hair, which was when Korra reached out to Bolin. He nodded, handing her the small blowtorch, and for a worrying moment, she looked straight into Jinora's eyes. There was a sparkle in it that meant bad news for Toza, but that was hardly a surprise. No, what worried Jinora was that it looked like Korra was going to enjoy this.

-"You see," Korra quietly opened, as casual like she was talking about the weather, "We can knock you around a little bit, and that won't really do any harm. Yeah, you'll be in a bit of pain, but what I want, is that you will truly remember what you did to those poor girls. One in particular, if I'm honest." She flicked the torch on, and Toza's eyes grew wide with fear.

-"And you will," she said, before she pushed the torch into his chest. He screamed out in agony, while the smell of seared flesh filled the room. Jinora wanted to turn away, but out of sheer morbid curiosity, simply found she couldn't. Slowly but surely, Korra began to move the torch, and it took Jinora a while to realize she was writing a letter. when she lifted the torch, an "R" was burned into the right side of his chest. "One down, five to go," Korra smirked, and Toza tried to scream again in protest, but the tape rendered his attempts useless.

It didn't take long for Korra to finish the rest of the letters, and the word "RAPIST" was now burned into Toza's chest in large, bright red letters. The air was heavy with the smell of burned flesh, and Korra gestured to Bolin again. She cut one of his arms free, and Bolin freed his other one, but Toza was in too much pain to try and resist them. They rolled him over, and Mako used more duct tape to tie his arms to the leg of his desk.

Korra squatted down next to him, and slapped him in the face to get his attention again. She took the pliers and the blowtorch, and started heating them up, while Mako pulled Toza's pants down to his knees. His eyes grew wide again, and a few more muffled screams of protest came from him. "Normally, I'd cut off your dick for this," Korra said, continuing on her casual tone, "but the chance that you bleed out is just a little too big for me, so instead, I'll just use this," she said, releasing the button of the blowtorch and dropping the pliers. She reached into her backpack, taking out the cone, and suddenly, it hit Jinora what it was. He groaned again in protest, but before he could do anything else, Korra forced the entire cone up his ass, and judging by the sounds of things, it was even more painful than having his chest branded.

-"Now," Korra stated, squatting down beside him again, looking him straight into the eyes. "If I ever hear that you even so much as  _touch_  any of the girls working for you again, I will come back, and I won't hold back. I will cut of your balls, and make you eat them. Do I make myself clear?" Toza nodded despite the pain he was in, and Jinora knew that Korra's threats were not hollow. "Good, then I'd say that our business here is finished. Let's go, people." Korra waved her finger around, and they were on their way back to Korra's place again. The Fabulous Dealing Brothers waved off again, going back to the club, while Korra and Jinora walked on.

Once there, Jinora finally had the courage to take off her gloves again. Her right hand, which she had used to beat up Toza, was badly bruised, and she couldn't clench her middle and ring finger, probably meaning they were sprained. Korra set to work fabricating a make-shift ice pack (a bunch of ice cubes wrapped in a tea towel, but it did the trick) and handed it to Jinora. "Here. It'll reduce the swelling."

Jinora eyed her up, while Korra fell back onto a couch next to her. "Feel better now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

-"Yeah, much," was Korra's simple reaction. "And you can't tell me that you don't."

The younger girl sighed. It was true, finally being able to punch Toza in the face was massively satisfying. Even though she had never been a vindictive person, for this, she made an exception. What he did to both Opal and her mother was unforgivable, plain and simple, and odds were, he wouldn't do it again after tonight. But then there was the elephant in the room. She had helped Korra brutally torture someone and didn't stop her because part of Jinora  _wanted_  to see him suffer.

-"Jinora, you shouldn't feel proud of what we did tonight, but you also shouldn't feel bad about it. What he did was not okay, and what's more, I highly doubt Opal was the first. We provided a public service here tonight by protecting every girl who works at that supermarket, including your mom."

"No, what we did was requite evil with more evil. That's not how justice works."

-"If the justice system worked, we wouldn't be talking here right now, and he wouldn't have been able to touch Opal in the first place. We dispensed... local justice."

"What we did wasn't justice, it was revenge. I'm not saying..." Jinora sighed, hesitating that she wanted to admit this." I'm not saying he didn't deserve it, but I'm fairly certain this wasn't the right way to go."

Korra sighed at her reaction. "Look, I get where you're coming from, but truth be told, this was a good thing, and not just that we taught him a lesson. We can go back and forth on that all night long, but in the end, you can't argue with results. No, what I mean is that when your life starts to... settle, Raava throws a stone at it, and believe me, she's winding up."

"What does that mean?"

-"Means that in our line of work, using violence is not optional. There will come a time where you have to draw your gun, and at least this way, you have a little bit of preparation, if not much. It's better than nothing, Jin."

Jinora took a deep breath, and let her head rest on her hands. Korra was right, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to change that. The only thing she could do, was to prepare herself for the worst to come.

* * *

_If you want to know the kind of look I'm going for with the bandanas, watch the video of Take Me To Church, from Hozier. Those guys look scary as hell of you ask me. Oh and yes, that Raava quote is from Age of Ultron. Loved that line from the start._


	8. Stick the Landing

"What's the situation, Sergeant?" the new detective asked upon arriving at the scene.

Saikhan looked up at the stately woman who was suddenly behind him. "I don't know who you think you are, but..."

"Save it. I'm your new partner," Lin cut him off.

-"You're Lin Beifong?"

Lin nodded. "Pleased to meet you. Now, where are we?"

He raised an eyebrow much to her chagrin, but she chose to ignore it for now. "Two stiffs, each with more lead than blood in them, gunned down roughly an hour ago," he casually said. "We haven't had the time yet to ID them, we really want to get out of here. The longer we're down here in the Dragon Flats, the worse our odds get. Catch my drift?"

Lin took a look around, seeing all kinds of people eyeing them up. From her days Uptown, that was not really a surprise, as people are drawn to the obscene, but this was something else. The way these people looked at them and the forensics... She knew that her partner was right, the looks they were getting spelt bad news. "Alright. Any eye-witnesses?"

-"Try the entire damn borough, but no one is gonna talk. They know that if they open their mouths, they're next."

This took her by surprise. She knew that her promotion meant more danger, since she would be relocated from Uptown to... well, here, but not that things were  _this_  bad. "So are we even going to try, or should we just give up?"

Saikhan sighed. "I got two uniforms out asking a few questions, but so far, they have zero results." The words had barely left his mouth, or the radio of his car, parked next to the crime scene, started crackling. "Saikhan, we got something for you. Narook's across the street, we got someone talking." He raised an eyebrow at Lin. "All yours," he smirking said.

She rolled her eyes, and walked over to the restaurant. The two uniformed officers were on different sides of the restaurant, so Lin just walked up to the closest one. "Officer, you called me over?"

He looked up. "Are you Saikhan's new partner?"

Lin just nodded in response, and the officer continued. "Ah, well, this here is Kai Fong, he saw the whole thing." He gestured to a boy, about 18, Lin would estimate him. He was wearing a worn-out green sweater over (what probably once was) a white shirt.

She took a seat opposite of him, and gestured the officer to leave. "Kai, I'm Lin," she opened, trying to be less callous than usual. "Are you okay with me asking you a few questions?"

-"Sure, fire away."

 _That was easy._  "Alright, first off, what did you see?"

-"Not much. I was sitting here, when a black truck comes charging down the street, slams on the brakes in front of them, and then I heard a whole bunch of shots. Couldn't see them, the shooters were on the far side and the windows were blacked out. After that, the truck took off again, and took a right on 94th. Other than that, I don't know anything."

Lin smiled. "Kai, you know more than you think. What direction did the truck come from?"

-"Over there," Kai said, pointing away from the scene.

"Alright, so they were shooting from the passenger side. How many guns do you think you heard?"

-"I think two. I couldn't see them, but it sounded like two different guns. Good stuff, they were firing automatics. Look Detective, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but it was a gang hit. That truck is burning in an alley somewhere, and the shooters are gone. You're never going to catch them."

"We'll see about that, kid." Lin continued on like this for a while, asking him about what he saw. Ultimately, she knew she had everything, so she handed him her card, telling him to call if he remembered anything else. Kai nodded, and walked out, lighting up a cigarette the moment he stepped out the door.  _Shining example of spending scarce resources wisely._ The detective looked up when she saw Saikhan standing in the door, winking her over.

-"What'd ya get?"

"Quite a lot. Black truck, two shooters, separate driver."

Saikhan scoffed. "Could be anyone. We're about to wrap up down here, moving it to the station. This place is giving me the creeps. Come on, let's roll." He went out of the restaurant again, and Lin followed him to his car. The last thing she saw before getting back into the car made her sigh: less than an hour and a half in, and the crime scene was already being cleaned up with a garden hose.  _Perhaps that boy was right._

* * *

Jinora walked back into Iroh's den, and much to her surprise, it was a full house. Korra, Iroh, and a guy she didn't know were there. "Hello..." she hesitatingly opened, not sure what she should think of this. "Am I interrupting something?"

-"No Jinora, you're right on time, actually," Iroh said, standing up from his desk, and walking around so that he stood between Korra and the other guy. "Jinora, this is Tahno, Tahno, Jinora," he introduced them. She quickly eyed him up, and really wasn't sure what to think. He had a ridiculously elaborate haircut, and a smug smile on his face that she couldn't quite place in terms of what was so funny. His pale skin was a stark contrast to Korra's, and it looked out of place, or perhaps just weird. "Pleasure," she evenly replied.

-"We three have just been on a small errand, and we need you as insurance policy."

This caught her off-guard. "What do you mean by that? And come to think of it, what kind of 'errand' do you mean?"

-"It's just to be prepared," Iroh casually replied. Our business is not repeatable in polite company, so I shall not burden you with that. However, if people come asking questions about us, you will tell them that we were hanging out at Korra's place for the past two hours. Simple as that."

Jinora scoffed. "Yeah right, who the hell is gonna believe that I spend my free time with a man more twice my age?"

Korra intervened. "Mutual friend, is what you're gonna say. You were simply there to see me."

The Airbender eyed them all up suspiciously. "Alright, this all sounds like creating a fake alibi. Now I don't want to know who and what, but I'm no your tool, I don't like this  _at all_. Why are you even bothering with this? The police here are a joke, you told me that yourself, Korra."

Iroh sighed. "There's a new cop in town, Lin Beifong. She just got transferred, and I did some digging. Apparently, she's one of those saintly officers that can't be bribed. Always a pain in the ass, for as long as they last."

-"From what I've heard, she's a hard bitch," Tahno remarked. "Nearly impossible to kill, the Red Monsoon's tried to take her out Uptown, didn't work, and she landed half the triad in jail because of it. We can't do it that way either, if we get the Feds on our tail, we're all positively fucked."  _Boy, he's a real charmer. Three minutes together in the room with him, and you already don't like him. That's gotta be some kind of a record._

Jinora nodded. "So, I just... lie my ass off to a tough-as-nails detective who can probably spot me lying from a mile away?"

Iroh hesitatingly nodded. "Pretty much." He snapped his fingers, and sat down at his desk again. "Now for the good news: remember how you met with the Innkeeper, but he already had a supplier?" She nodded, and The General continued. "Well, that supplier is now out of the picture. I want you to go over there after you finish your round at the motel, and make him an offer. You know the limits I've set you, but I might be able to expand a little bit in the future, if he is good for it."

 _'Out of the picture'?! Motherfucker, they clipped him! He was what the gunfire on Taku Avenue two hours ago was for!_  Of course, Jinora didn't say any of this. "Will do," she quietly murmured, and took the bag of Glide he slid towards her, stuffing it in her backpack. "I'll be back with your money later," she said as she walked out the door. Korra soon went after her.

-"Hey," The Avatar said, catching up with her unofficial little sister. "What's going on?"

"What do you think?! I'm supposed to just be  _okay_  with the fact that..." Jinora paused, and took a deep breath to calm herself down, because she was about to make a big accusation, and they were out on the street. "That you killed a guy?" she continued on a whisper.

Korra sighed. "No, I don't expect you to be. But I warned you about the ugly side of this work when you got in, and this is the risk they took. Now they were costing Iroh a lot of money, and not just because you couldn't get the deal with the Innkeeper. The deal you can get at that place is an added bonus, but one that can get you exactly what you need: a steady flow of money to help your mom."

"They?" Jinora was shocked. "There was more than one?"

-"Two." Korra sighed again. "I know it sucks, but you just have to accept that this is the way this business works."

"Accept? Accept that some day, it's going to be you or me in the cross-hairs?"

-"I warned you about that already, just keep your mouth shut and your eyes open and you'll be fine. Just don't do anything crazy, and you won't get on Iroh's bad side, you know that."

Jinora wasn't the least bit convinced, not to mention that she just got confirmation that her life-long friend was actually a cold-blooded killer. For the first time since she was actually out on the street, she felt a pang of real fear go through her. Iroh was not the man he presented himself to be, that much was for sure though. Korra had already been dragged down to his level, and she had this ominous feeling that it wouldn't be long before she would be forced to do that as well.

"Alright, I'll keep my head down." She nodded in the direction of Korra's place. "You run along now, I got this. It's my deal." She put up her hood to emphasize her words, and Korra bought it.

-"Just... be careful."

"I always am," Jinora said, knocking on her gun through her pocket. Korra smiled and walked off, while Jinora went the other way.

The motel went down smoothly. She made some good money, and for once, was nearly dead-on with the amount she had taken with her. It was always a risk to come back with too much, but hey, when there aren't enough customers, it's not like she can buy it for herself. As long as she kept Iroh in the loop, she had nothing to fear. Besides, it was worse for her, since she had to walk around all night with a bag full of drugs.

Jinora sighed as she dragged herself to the crackhouse on 95th and Gaoling. There was something pressing against her. If she didn't land this deal, it would mean that Korra killing those two guys would have been for nothing. It would also mean that she would miss a golden opportunity to actually provide for her family.

She took once last deep breath before stepping inside, determined to try and hold the stench out of her nose for as long as she could. Of course, this was a losing battle, but then she saw The Innkeeper again. He got a slanted smirk on his face when he spotted her - by now - fairly well-known orange hoodie. "Let me guess: you're here to make me an offer?"

Jinora smiled. "Very perceptive. But there is a famous saying: 'When there's blood on the streets, buy property.' Guess I'm taking that to heart here." She paused for a moment. "What happened to your regular supplier was tragic, but I have bills of my own to pay. Can't let good morals get in the way of meaningful progress."

-"Well, clearly you didn't know them that well."

This slightly puzzled her. "What do you mean?"

The Innkeeper laughed. "He was a fuckin' asshole, and the world is better off without him, not to mention that he had it coming. The only good thing I can say about him was that he was punctual." He snapped his fingers, and leaned down on the table. "Now, let's get down to business. You're here to take his place, and let's say for the moment that I can be swayed. Why should I go for you specifically?"

Jinora shrugged it off. "You know why. I sell a high-quality product, and you'd have to go a long way to find the next seller who sells it as pure as I do. You know they like it."

He thought for a while, and slowly started nodding. "Alright. Make me an offer."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Jinora's mouth. "How much do you need?"

-"A pound every month, delivered right on time."

 _Fuck. That's more than Iroh can deliver._  "I can't do that. Not in one go, at least. I might be able to make a quarter pound every week, how does that sound? At a quarter of the price, of course."

He seemed to weigh his options. "What would that cost me?"

"Well, a pound goes for about 10.000 yuans, so it would be 2500 every week. Seems like a reasonable price to me." Jinora knew she was shooting high, but she needed room to maneuver. He would drive a bargain, that much was for certain. Iroh had set bottom price, and he would take a fixed percentage of what she raked in, so the higher the price, the more she would make. Of course, she couldn't shoot  _too_  high, otherwise he'd be turned off straight away.

-"Ha!" The Innkeeper laughed. "That's almost double what I pay now. 1500 a week, that's what I can do."

 _Bullshit. The street price of normal smack is at least 1600, and you get chopped-up shit for that._  "2250, still a very reasonable offer."

-"1750."

"Let's meet in the middle, make it a nice and even 2000 a week. Seems fair enough to me."

He slowly started nodding again. "2000. I can do that." He raised a warning finger. "Do note, Airbender, if you try to fuck me over, and it's less than a quarter pound, I'm gonna beat your ass into six feet of dirt." He held out a hand, and Jinora reluctantly shook it. "When can you deliver the first shipment?"

"It's gonna take some time to make the necessary arrangements, but I should be able to make the first delivery next Friday. I can sell you a few emergency supplies now, if it's necessary."

"I think that would be good," he said. "I always took my shipment on Tuesdays, so I might need some extra. How much have you got?"

 _Damn. The **one**  fucking night you come up nice and clean, and now you can sell it all._ "It's not much, but it might last them a few days," she said, nodding to the junkies. She quickly rounded up the sale of what she had left, and made her way back to Iroh's den, actually feeling pretty content with herself.

"Well, I landed the crackhouse on Gaoling," she said, dropping the money on his desk. "He bought the rest of the Glide I had left, and we made a deal: quarter of a pound there every Friday, 2000 yuans. Can you deliver?"

Iroh thought for a moment. "I'll have to call in a few favors to make it work on a short notice, but on the long run, it could be good." A slight smile played over his face. "I'm impressed Jinora, I really am."

Surprisingly, it made her feel very appreciated, which was rare. In spite of Korra's warning, Iroh didn't appear to be  _that_ bad a man after all. "Thanks Iroh, I appreciate that."

-"Don't sweat it." He handed here the money she had earned, and it wasn't half bad tonight. After saying her quick goodbye, it was time to go home again.

Unfortunately, in the short time she had been in the den, it had started raining. And not just a little bit, heck no, the heavens had opened, and it was fucking pouring. Jinora had to make the decision: either stay at the den even longer, which she really didn't want to, or go home and get soaked?

She decided on the former, and took the risk of getting sick. The one thing she hadn't calculated in was that it was already bordering on winter, so the rain didn't only soak her to the bone, it was also  _freezing_. By the time she got home, the girl really regretted her decision, so all she really wanted to do now, was take a warm shower, and get in her bed.

By the sound of things, her mother was home and in the shower, while Ikki was still up watching TV. She looked up from her show when Jinora entered. "Hey sis. Where were you so late?"

Jinora rolled her eyes. "Oh what's it to you,  _mom_?" she mockingly asked, putting extra emphasis on the title. "Anyway, I was out. Good enough?"

-"No, not really," Ikki replied, getting up to stand right in front of her. "You are constantly out late nowadays, and you don't tell us anything. Now you're fucking soaking and you still say it's nothing!"

Pema must have heard it, because she called out from the shower. "Ikki! Watch your language, that is no way to talk to your sister!"

Ikki groaned and rolled her eyes, and Jinora smiled. Her little sister did have a point, though. She need to get out of this thing, and preferably quickly. Admittedly with some effort, she clamped her backpack between her legs, making sure Ikki wouldn't get hold of its contents, and managed to squeeze herself out of the soaking hoodie. "Alright, if you want to help me, be an angel and hang this in the bathroom when mom is done," she said, thrusting the wet clothing in her sister's arms.

She reluctantly took it, and Jinora hoisted her backpack on her shoulders again and started walking over to their room, when it suddenly hit her. She had just made a terrible mistake, she just hoped she wouldn't be too late to fix it. But by the time she turned around, Ikki was already feeling the front pocket, and pulled out the nickel-plated gun.

Her eyes grew wide, and she opened her mouth to take a deep breath and yell for their mother, but Jinora was quicker. She slammed her hand over Ikki's mouth, and used her full body weight to push her inside their room, and in one smooth motion, she kicked the door shut behind them and landed them both on one of the beds, Jinora on top of her little sister.

Both their hearts were pounding in their chest, while their faces were mere inches apart. Jinora could feel a surge of adrenaline from pure terror race through her, and it was now starting to act out. Her breathing became shallow, and she started panting. It took her a moment to regain her calm demeanor, and when she did, spoke in a low voice. "I'm gonna take my hand off your mouth in a moment. When I do, you are not going to yell. I will explain everything to you, and then we'll see what we're going to do next, okay?"

Ikki nodded, and Jinora slowly pulled her hand back a bit, while Ikki did exactly what Jinora told her: she kept quiet, and the older girl decided it was now safe to pull back completely. "What. The. Fuck. Jinora?! Is that thing real?!" she asked, keeping her voice down as promised.

Jinora sighed, and took it from her sister. "Yes it is, and be careful, it's loaded."

-"What are you doing with a gun, for fuck's sake?!"

 _Well, promised her, can't go back on yourself now. It would only end badly for you._  She sighed again.  _Fuck._  "Well, it's where I always go at night: out on the street. I'm working with Korra. I take it with me for protection."

This nearly made Ikki's eyes roll of out her head with surprise. "You're a  _drug dealer_?!"

"Yeah, I guess I am. I want to make a difference for us, make some money, help us get along. No, I don't like it, but it's something I have to do, Ikki."

She wasn't the least bit convinced. "Have you shot people?"

"No, I haven't. And truth be told, if I can avoid it, I won't. Unfortunately, that's not always going to be in my control, which is why I have to walk around with this thing."

-"So what was your big plan? Sell drugs to earn money and then give it to mom, hoping she won't question how you got it?"

 _Damn, she's actually right on that._  "I haven't really figured that part out just yet. But even if I did, it's not enough yet to make a real difference. I made a good deal today, that's going to help me with that, hopefully this'll all be worth it."

Ikki fell silent, and tried to take it all in. To say that Jinora was now sweating bullets (ironically enough) would be an understatement. Now that she had landed the house on Gaoling, it would mean a nice and steady influx of money, meaning she could try and give them to her mother somehow, but if she would know that is was Jinora earning it on the street selling drugs, no way she would accept it. Ikki would have to keep this quiet, and that was the uncertainty factor.

Her sister was a blabbermouth, and it was typically her mind that had to catch up with her tongue instead of the other way around. "Look, Ikki," Jinora opened carefully. "I know that this must be a big shock to you..."

Her sister interrupted her. "That's an understatement."

Jinora sighed. "I suppose. But I can't stop this now, I'm in too deep for that. So I need you to keep this quiet, as in, you can't tell anyone about this. Ever."

She stayed silent for a while. "Well," she ultimately said, a small smirk appearing on her face. "I suppose I could be persuaded..."

"Are you blackmailing me?!"

-"Call it whatever you want to, but the fact is, you lied to all of us. This is the price you have to pay."

Jinora took a deep breath. "Fine. What's it's going to cost me?"

-"A new phone for me."

"Deal. But if you tell anyone, I'll take it away again."

Ikki nodded. "Fair enough." She walked towards the door again, and playfully poked Jinora in the side. "Come on sis, cheer up. We're going shopping tomorrow!"

She walked out, and Jinora let herself fall back onto her bed, where she buried her face in her hands.  _Fuck._


	9. Back Alley Brawl

_And that's that taken care of._  Jinora walked out of the crackhouse again, feeling pretty pleased with herself. The deal with The Innkeeper had gone down smoother than ever this time around. Give him the product, collect the money, and she was on her way again. Couldn't be simpler.

For a change, he had given her the money in large bills, which was a nice change of pace. Typically, he took it from his *ahem*  _clients_  in the smallest possible measures, mostly because they had to scrape it together, but this time, he decided that 2000 yuans would be more easily counted in 50's than 10's and 20's.

She was taking a shortcut, as it was kind of cold, and she had herself to blame for being slightly underdressed. She wanted to get back to Iroh's den quickly, collect the money she earned here, and get back home.

It must be said that much like she had suspected, things had improved since she made the deal here. Ikki's warning had resonated in her head, and she found that the easiest way to get her mother to take the money was also the simplest: put 100 yuans in a simple, white, unmarked envelope each week, and post it in their mailbox. At first, Pema had been very hesitant, but she decided that they needed the money than they would need to be honest and turn it in with the police. _Ha. The police. Give it to the guy at the front desk, and he'll be taking his girlfriend out to a nice dinner that night._

The second week it happened, her mother was more suspicious, but couldn't find a reasonable explanation. And now, six weeks in, it was the middle of winter, and she was now convinced that someone was taking care of them. She just couldn't figure out who. Jinora scaled back the amount of time she was spending out on the streets to avoid suspicion, limiting it to three nights a week, plus the delivery at Gaoling. The rest of the nights she spent back home again, assuring her mother that everything was fine.

Iroh didn't even blame her for that. He was glad she was raking in big profits for the both of them, and he actually admired that she still wanted to finish school. But there was that one thing. Korra once informed Jinora that Iroh was starting to distrust her. She was gaining influence and contacts, and that was not good. Sure, she wasn't on Korra's level yet, but Iroh was worried that might happen some day. Not to mention, she was clever enough to know that if 'some day' came, she would be in Iroh's way, no matter how badly she was trying to stay on his good side. It was something she would have to be careful with.

Speaking of good sides, Ikki had kept her word. Buying her a phone had put a significant dent in the little stash of money that Jinora had saved up, but it was worth it to keep her quiet. Her little sister had been smart about it, she had to admit that. She kept the phone hidden from their mother, and pretty much didn't use it at all in their house, just to make sure Pema wouldn't find out.  _Hey, as far as secrets go, there are worse ones to keep._

It had one downside though: since she typically earned more than 100 yuans a week, she had that little bit extra to spend on herself. The majority of what she earned went to her family, but she kept a little bit for herself, and some of that she spent on cigarettes. She had most certainly picked up the habit now that she started to make a meaningful amount of money and had a little bit of disposable income.

A cold breeze pulled her back from her thoughts. She pulled the cords of her hoodie a little tighter, closing the gap between her neck and the fabric. Jinora looked up at the sky, and sighed when she saw how gray it was.  _Great. Balance of probability says: you're walking the last 10 blocks in the rain._  She quickly lit one up, hoping to finish it before the heavens opened.

By the time she reached the end of the alley, a guy suddenly jumped in front of her, pulling out a knife and poking it in her side. It definitely startled her, and she wanted to jump away, but he grabbed her by the left arm, preventing her from doing just that. "Listen up and you won't get hurt," he growled in a low voice.

Her breathing deepened as the adrenaline started racing through her, triggering her fight-or-flight systems. She knew that her gun was in her front pocket, and if she could only reach it... Her other option was to run, but this guy was half a head taller than her, and chances were he could easily outrun her. She decided to go for option three. "What do you want?" she asked, trying to keep the quivering of her voice to a minimum.

-"You mean it isn't obvious? I want the money you just made in there, plain and simple. Give it up and I'll let you walk."

 _Mother. Fucker._  This was the worst kind of situation to be in. If she would give up the money, Iroh would be livid, not to mention that her mother had pretty much started calculating it into their weekly plan. She would be fucked if she gave it up.

That being said, a knife to the ribs wasn't a very appealing prospect either. Korra's words resonated through her mind:  _"No amount of money is worth your life."_

There was just one thing working to her advantage: he probably didn't know that she was armed. "Alright, no need for violence," Jinora said, but her voice was shaking. "I have it right here." She reached into her front pocket with her free hand, feeling her hand shake against the cool metal of the gun. His eyes briefly glanced down, and Jinora decided to act now. She kneed him right in the family jewels, all awhile pulling out the gun and aiming it right at him. "Back off," she hissed, trying to appear confident. It was, however, fairly likely that he picked up on her nerves, given how badly her hand was shaking.

Now that he was a bit further away, Jinora had a chance to properly eye him up. On closer inspection, he appeared to be about her age, but he definitely came prepared. He had his face covered with a bandana, ironically enough one with the same design that Korra had given her when they went out to beat up Toza. He had a green hoodie over a white shirt, both of which had seen better days.  _Dammit. This kid is doing this for the same reason that you are: he's dirt poor._  His surprisingly green eyes were drilling right into hers, trying to figure out if she would actually shoot him.

Because of the stand-off they were in, he started laughing. "You won't shoot me. You don't have it in you."

"Care to push your luck?"

-"Well, you still have the safety on." After he said that, everything happened at once. For the briefest of moments, Jinora doubted herself. Did she really forget to switch the gun to 'fire'? By the time she realized she hadn't, the robber already made his move. He swung his knife, coming in from the left, and reached for her right arm, trying to push the gun out of his way. But Jinora's reflexes were quick. She raised her left arm to protect herself from the knife, and pushed her right hand down to make sure he wouldn't get hold of her gun.

Both moves ended up worse than she could have imagined. The way she reacted to the incoming knife meant it actually ended up cutting a massive gash over the palm of her hand, which hurt like hell. That, however, was a minor thing compared to what happened with her other hand. The robber tried to grab it, and ended up yanking on it. Now in the heat of the moment, Jinora had completely forgotten what Korra had taught her about trigger discipline, i.e.  _not_  to put your finger around the trigger until you're about to shoot. She had her finger on it, and because of the sudden move forward, the gun went off. The shot was extremely loud and incredibly close, and had her completely stunned. It took her a moment to realize that she was fine, outside of the cut on her hand.

But everything was not fine for the robber. He stumbled back, putting his hand over his abdomen. When he took a look at it, they both realized that it was covered in his blood. His tan skin turned deathly pale, and he fell against the wall, sitting himself down.

Jinora felt like she was nailed to the floor. Her one instinct was telling her to help this poor kid, as she had just shot him. Her other instinct was telling her to run as far away as she could, because, well, she had just  _shot_  him. "I-I..." she stammered, unable to come up with something coherent.

Then she finally decided. She ran away. After stuffing the gun back in her pocket, she ran as hard as she could. She didn't really look where she was going, and it took her a while to realize that she was running completely the wrong way.

Ultimately, she had to stop to catch her breath, and sat herself down on a fuse box, trying to get a handle on herself. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, her heart was beating about 180 times a minute, and her breathing was all over the place.

 _Holy fucking shit, what did you just do?! You shot him, and now you left him on the ground in an alley, waiting for him to bleed to death!_  A wave of guilt and nausea rolled over her, and it took her everything not to give into it. She let her bleeding hand hang beside her, and tried not to start crying so out in the open.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out to her. "Jinora? What are you doing here?"

She looked up. It was Mako. Without even realizing it, she had ended up right next to The Triangle Club. "Mako... I-I..."

But he interrupted her. "Shit, Jinora, you're bleeding! What happened to you?" He threw away his cigarette, and urged her to come inside the backstage area of the club so that he could clean and bandage her hand.

"I... I shot someone..." Jinora ultimately managed to choke out.

Mako's eyes grew wide at hearing this. "You did what?"

"He's probably not dead... I think... And I left him!" She could fight back the tears anymore. "I left him! What kind of little shit am I?!"

-"Hey, pull yourself together," Mako commanded. "Where is he?"

"95th and Gaoling... In the alley."

Mako nodded, and walked to the door. "Bolin! Get your lazy ass over to 95th and Gaoling  _now_ , there's someone in the alley who needs help!" he yelled out, and Bolin came through the door. Before he could be on his way, the older brother pulled him in close, and whispered something in his ear. The younger one nodded, and ran out.

Mako walked back to Jinora, and finished binding her hand. "There, it should hold for a while. It was a nasty cut." She didn't respond, and it was briefly quiet. "Jinora, what happened out there?"

"He... He pulled a k-knife on me... He wanted the money..." Jinora sobbed, half choking on her own words.

Mako sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, I'm gonna call Korra, and she can take care of you." He stepped back a few paces to do just that, and even though he was well within earshot, Jinora couldn't be bothered to listen to what he was saying. She was sunken in her own thoughts, predominantly thinking about the boy she had shot.

Because let's face it, that's what he was. He wasn't some evil genius, he was probably just as down on his luck as she was.  _More so, actually, because you're not the one bleeding out in a disgusting alley._  She still saw the look of horror in his eyes as he fell to the ground. She completely lost track of time, when suddenly, Mako was back in front of her, handing her a small glass. "Here, drink this, it'll take the edge off."

Jinora didn't even think about it, she just took the glass and threw it back in one swig. It was the same sickeningly sweet liquid that Korra served her all those weeks ago, but she didn't really care. Mako had been right though, it did take the edge off her a little. With that taken care of, Jinora lit up another cigarette, hoping to take a little bit of the stress away as well. She started thinking about the situation, and not just the end result. It was actually kind of obvious, the boy had _forced_  her to do that. True, she didn't have to pull a gun on him, but he shouldn't have tried to rob her in the first place. And plus, if he knew that she was walking around with a big wad of cash, he should also have been able to put two and two together to realize that she owed that money to someone else. Trying to rob someone who has a lot to lose is always a bad idea. He had her backed up into a corner, and ultimately paid the price.  _Though maybe a bullet to the stomach was a bit much._

She was pulled out of her thoughts again when Korra threw the door open, and she looked around the room for her unofficial little sister. When she spotted her, Korra flew her around the neck, and picked her up like she weighed nothing. "Mako told me what happened. Are you okay Jinora?"

Jinora sighed. "Well, outside of a cut on my hand, yeah, I guess I am."

Korra sighed in relief, and put her down again. "Well, let's just be glad about that." Before Jinora knew what was happening, Korra was slapping her on the side of the head. "Then what the fuck were you thinking?! I told you, no amount of money is worth getting fucking stabbed over!"

"I know, I know, but it wasn't just money." She sighed again. "What if I had given that kid the money? Then Iroh would have been pissed, and he may have pulled me off the crackhouse. I need that place, Korra, you know that." Jinora pulled her in close, making sure she could whisper the next thing without Mako hearing it. "I had 2000 yuans of Iroh's money in my bag, I wasn't going to give it up without a fight."

-"And so you shot him over it?" Korra said after pulling back, a distinct chastising undertone in her voice.

"Hey, I didn't mean to! I pulled out my gun, then he tried to grab it, and it went off in his stomach!" Jinora turned away, partially aware that Korra was right on this one. "Look, I feel really bad about this, okay? I'm hoping that Bolin will come back with good news, and preferably soon."

Korra sighed, and just pulled her back into another hug, clearly a bit upset about semi-hitting her. It hadn't been hard, but it was more than playful. They sat that way for a while, when Bolin came back in, blood smeared over his shirt.

Jinora shot upright when he did. "How is he?"

-"He's alive." Jinora sighed in relief.  _Hurray, you don't have a body resting on your conscience._  Bolin continued. "He had passed out by the time I got to the alley, so I quickly picked up his knife and the empty shell that you had fired. I took him to Republic City General, and they told me that he was lucky. The bullet had missed all of the vital organs, and only damaged his small intestine, before lodging itself on a vertebra. They couldn't remove it without doing more harm than good, so they just left it in there. His body will take care of the rest. I took the shell and the knife, and threw them both into the river. The rain should have taken care of anything still in the alley, so you should be in the clear if forensics get curious. Not that they will, given that he's a simple street kid."

She let it all wash over her, and decided not to question Bolin on that one. She was mostly just relieved that the boy was at least alive for now. "Did you get a name out of him?"

-"No, he was unconscious the entire time. I told them I had found him and he needed help. The hospital will take care of the rest."

She sighed again in relief, and Mako spoke up. "You should go home, Jinora. There isn't anything we can do for you around here."

"You're wrong about that." A smile appeared on Jinora's face. "You've done nothing but good things for me."

Korra stood up as well. "Regardless, he's right. You should get some sleep. Come on, I'll take you home." She pulled Jinora to her feet again, and walked back to her apartment, when she suddenly remembered that she still had Iroh's money.

"Korra, I gotta stop by the den first. I have to give Iroh back the profits."

-"No, I'll deal with Iroh tonight. You just give me the money, and I'll give you back your share in the morning. Sound good?"

Jinora sighed. "Yeah, I suppose."

Korra gave her a little nudge on the shoulder. "Hey, come on, you know you can trust me. Besides, your mom is going to be curious about that," she said, gesturing to her bandaged left hand.

"Thanks. I'll figure something out. I guess I always do anyway."

This made the older girl chuckle. "Cheer up, everyone is still alive, right? Plus, you're smart, and you've become a lot better at improvising over the past months. Just think positive, and it'll all be fine."

"Yeah, I guess so." They had arrived at Jinora's place.

-"Just give me that backpack, and I'll come back to see you tomorrow."

It succeeded in putting a smile on Jinora's face, who handed Korra the money. "Alright. See you tomorrow." They each went their separate ways, Korra back to Iroh, and Jinora back inside.

Her unofficial sister had been right, of course. The first thing Pema noticed when she came home was the bandage on her daughter's hand. Nolens volens, Jinora had become fairly good at lying, even to her mother. She had fabricated a simple story where she tripped, falling on a piece of broken glass, and that Korra was the one who bandaged her hand. When Korra came by the next day, she managed to improvise on Jinora's behalf, confirming her story, and that was good enough for Pema.

-"Iroh was kind of impressed. He admitted to me that he didn't think you'd have it in you to shoot someone," Korra informed her.

"And I suppose you told him the truth?" Jinora sarcastically shot back, raising an unconvinced eyebrow.

-"Well, selectively."

This made them both laugh hard. For Jinora, it was once again a fantastic reminder that she could always count on Korra, no matter what. Now that part was done, there was just one thing she wanted to do, that was probably not very smart, but it would be best if it happened. "Korra, I want to go see him."

-"You..." Korra sighed. "I think I don't have to tell you why that's a bad idea in every possible meaning of the word?"

Jinora shrugged. "I know, but I want to. In fact, it kind of feels like I have to." Korra remained silent and stoical. "I'm the one who put him there, so I should at least take responsibility for what I did." She still stayed silent, so Jinora just said how it was really going to be. "Look, I'm going to do this either way. It's not like I'm asking you for your permission or your blessing, I just like to give you the heads-up beforehand."

Korra loudly sighed. "Yeah, I figured that much, but do you really think  _you_  are the person he wants to see? The person who put him in the hospital in the first place?"

"I'm gonna do this, so you might as well stop arguing."

Korra took a deep breath, and shook her head. "The stubbornness of the Gyatso's..." she muttered under her breath, and it put a little smile Jinora's face. The girls said their goodbyes for the day, and Jinora quickly made her way to the hospital Bolin told her about. She sent Bolin a text asking him about the room number, and used the spare time to buy a fruit basket, since she had no idea what else to give him.

A text came from Bolin, guiding her to the room the robber was in.

Now that she was standing in front of it, her nerves were definitely building.  _What if Korra's right, and he yells you out of the room?_  She sighed.  _Welp, only one way to find out._

Jinora stepped inside and took a good look around. Even though it was a group room with four separate beds, he was the only one in it for now. Now that he wasn't holding a knife on her, she finally had a chance to get a good look at him, and on closer inspection, Jinora caught herself thinking that he was kind of handsome.  _Very_  handsome, in fact. His face had been mostly covered with a mask and a hoodie before, but now she saw that he had a neatly kept undercut, despite the fact that his hair was adorably messy, and there was a hint of a slanted grin on his face.

He seemed to be puzzled by Jinora stepping in. "Afternoon..." he hesitantly said. "Do I know you?"

"You don't recognize me?" She chuckled. "Well, for the moment, I'm just a concerned fellow citizen," she said, sitting down on the chair next to him. "By the way, I brought this for you." She put the fruit basket on the nightstand. "How are you feeling?"

-"Listen, I appreciate this, and outside of the fact that I can't bend forward, I'm fine, but..." he stopped mid-sentence, and suddenly squinted. "Wait a minute... You're the girl from the alley, aren't you?!"

Jinora guiltily nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

-"You shot me!" he said angrily, though he was smart enough to keep his voice down.

"Well, you tried to rob  _and_  stab me," she put up as a weak defense.

He thought about it for a moment, before giving her a 'fair enough'-nod. "Call it even?" he asked, the slanted grin on his face growing.

"I can live with that," Jinora smirked, and he stuck out a hand to her. "I'm Kai Fong," he said.

"Jinora Gyatso." She didn't know why she gave him her real name. He probably knew she was The Airbender, given that he was waiting for her there, but there was just something about him that seemed trustworthy. "Look, I'm really sorry about shooting you. I didn't mean to. In fact, you were probably right; I wouldn't have had it in me to pull the trigger."

But Kai just shrugged it off. "Meh, it was was my own fault as well. It was a total bluff when I said that you hadn't taken the safety off, but I hadn't expected you to be quick enough to move out of the way."

There was a deliberate sense of morbid irony to the way he said it, and it made her smile. "This may sound stupid, but I gotta ask you: why did you do it?"

-"You mean beyond the obvious?" he asked, raising another sarcastic eyebrow. "You seemed like an easy target, no offense. I had been staking out the place for a while now, so I knew that you would show up eventually, most likely with a big wad of cash, and I wanted it. Am I wrong?"

"No, not entirely." Jinora paused for a moment, thinking over what she just said. "Not at all, actually. But didn't you realize that I had to get that money to someone else who would probably skin my ass alive if I showed up empty-handed?"

Kai gave her another 'fair enough'-nod. "Meh, that wasn't something I was really concerned with. Sure, I was backing you up into a corner, but a knife poking in your side tends to focus people. Where is it, by the way?"

"Bottom of the Yue River," she replied, not a hint of remorse in her voice. She was glad Bolin had thrown the damn thing away, and she wasn't about to put up a show for the sake of it.

-"Ah man, I liked that knife," he pouted.

Jinora felt kind of bad for him. "I'll make it up to you. Not a new knife, but something else. What do you want me to do?"

He thought for a while, before that dastardly handsome smirk appeared again. "Well, you shot me and left me for dead, so it's going to take more than a fruit basket. How about..." he rolled his head, look her square in the eye, "dinner, once I get out of here?"

She honestly didn't know what to say. Her mouth had fallen open a little bit, and her eyes were on totally surprised. "Are you kidding me? I shoot you, and your idea of an apology is asking me out on a date?"

-"Hey, you're cute and I'm single, it's not that big a stretch if you ask me. Besides, I can't really fault you for shooting me, like I said, it was really my own dumb fault as well. So what do you say?"

Jinora smiled, and was unable to repress the blush creeping over her cheeks at what he said.

* * *

_Unlike Team Player, I hadn't finished this one in advance as well. As of now, this is where I am with writing, so updates will slow down dramatically from here._


	10. Date Night

-"You said WHAT?!" It almost seemed like Korra's eyes were going to pop out of her head.

Jinora put up an innocent smile and shrugged. "Hey, he was kind of cute. Besides, how can I deny the guy I shot in the stomach?" Suddenly, a devious thought appeared in Jinora's mind. "And hey, you're the one dating a stripper, you're not really in a position to pass down judgment when it comes to relationships."

Korra changed a shade at this comment. "I-I'm not dating..."

Bolin laughed out loud at this. "Korra, we all know Asami doesn't charge you. She's been batting for the other team longer than you have, and she's putting more effort into you than vice versa, so you might as well stop pretending and ask her out on a real date."

The blush that spread over Korra's face after this comment put a massive grin on everyone there. It was the Saturday afternoon after Jinora visited Kai in the hospital, and she found Korra, Opal, and the Fabulous Dealing Brothers hanging out at Korra's place, and it didn't take them long to invite her in to join them. She was in the process of becoming closer to Mako and Bolin, and the Kai-incident definitely accelerated that.

Bolin had been very concerned with Kai as well, and had made a few trips to the hospital. Now though, the younger one of the Dealing Brothers had spread the news that Jinora had agreed to a date with Kai as an apology.

"Thanks Bo, I appreciate that," Jinora said, smiling at him. Truth be told, she was a little bit nervous. Her date was later tonight, and she had pretty much no idea what to expect. She had been texting with Kai, sure (the phone wasn't his, but that's beside the point for the moment) but all they had agreed to was that he was going to pick her up at seven. "Anyway folks, it's been nice, but I have to go and get ready. I got a date to impress."

-"Don't forget to bring protection," Korra said, making the Brothers smile.

"Korra, I'm going on a date, not to war."

-"That's not the kind of protection I'm talking about."

A red blush raced over the younger girl's face, and she really wanted to get out of that room before Korra could find more ways to embarrass her. She made her way back to her own home as quickly as she could, where she started to prepare herself for her date.

Pema was startled when being weakly greeted by her daughter who rushed past her. "Is everything all right?" the woman asked, quite confused about her daughter's hurry. Jinora didn't respond as she was busy with getting her clothes off and looking for a towel to cover herself up. Korra's protection-remark kept roaming through her head.  _It won't get that far._

When she still didn't get an answer from her daughter, she set course to the younger's room before the two almost collapsed into each other. "What's that all about, Jinora?" Pema eyed the girl up and did not let go of her gaze while she was waiting for an answer.

 _Damn. How am I supposed to explain to her that I have a date with a petty criminal?_  The sharp eyes of her mother were piercing right through her, making her nervous.  _Fuck. This better be good or else I'm screwed._  "I-I kind of... got a date," she stuttered.

Pema's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" She nodded weakly, not knowing what else to say. Pema clasped her hands together. "Oh, honey, that's wonderful news! I never would have thought you'd meet someone this soon!"  _Guess we're in the same boat then._  "What is he like?" Jinora gulped.  _What is he like?_  If only she knew herself. She literally met the boy four days ago and their first encounter ended up with a shot thief and a fleeing drug dealer.

-"It's a boy, right?" Jinora almost choked. A faint blush came up her cheeks.

"Of course it's a boy!" The embarrassment was unbearable. This was going to be more awkward than she'd expected.  _I hope the date will be better..._

Pema sighed in relief. "Well, you know you can't meet someone I don't know anything about. What's his name?"

"His name is Kai." Jinora calmed down a bit. Her mother just wanted some information and if it meant that she could continue after this, she'd go along. "He went to my school a few years ago but dropped out eventually," she explained. _And another lie._  She'd stopped counting them after what seemed like the thousandth lie. It didn't make her happy to once again lie to her mother, but as long as it would keep her above the water, it was the only possible option. Things needed to be done. So far, everything was going surprisingly well, but she had to keep this up. The Kai-incident only reminded her in what the stakes were in this game, and it was one she couldn't afford to lose. The older woman seemed to be surprised at this and that was when Jinora realized her error. To save her ass, she quickly added: "He lives on 82nd Street now and is working at the power plant." Pema nodded slowly.

-"So he seems to be a slogging man."  _If only you'd know._  "How did you two meet?"  _Shit. She's pressing me out like a damsel in distress._

"Ehm, we kinda stumbled into each other and there was an accident ... He then kinda asked me out on a date to make amends and I kind of accepted."  _If she's going to ask about the 'accident' I'll be fucked like Korra. In a non-literal way._ But her mother seemed to call it quits.

-"One last question."  _Damn it, I'm running late._  "Do you intend to sleep with him?"

" _Mom_!" A furious blush raced over her face again when she remembered Korra's words. But Pema didn't seem to notice - or care.

-"Jinora Gyatso, I asked you a question. Do you want to sleep with him?"

"Holy crap, NO!" Why was it that everyone assumed her to jump in bed with him? Did she really turn into  _that_  kind of person or did everyone only have a weak impression of her? Pema nodded again until she started off again. "And-"

"Mom, I'm literally standing naked right in front of you and the towel's the only thing that's covering me up and I'm running late!"

-"O-okay. You're right. I think I shouldn't stand in your way any more." She made way for her and Jinora didn't wait another second before she quickly passed her mother who was left alone in the doorframe.

After a good shower she set course back to her room, only to be stopped by Ikki who approached her. Jinora groaned. "What is it, Ikki?" She gave her sister a snappish look. But the younger girl didn't show any reaction to it and instead said: "Mom said I should give you this." She stretched her hand out to reveal a wrap. Realizing what it is, Jinora took a sharp breath. It was a condom. Suddenly concerned about her womanhood, she tightened her grip of the towel and quickly snatched the wrap out of Ikki's hand before the younger could ask any questions.

Without paying any more attention to her sister, she rushed to her room and locked the door to keep out any intruders. She didn't know how much time had passed, so she opened the wardrobe and tossed everything away that didn't fit into a date-scene. After what seemed like an eternity, she looked at herself in the mirror with a pleased expression, because she never had a date before, her wardrobe couldn't give her what was needed, so that her choice fell on a new pair jeans, a white top and her good old shoes in the end, and her orange hoodie with the blue arrow on it.

She didn't even know where they would go to, but probably not to Kwong's Cuisine. She was a drug dealer with some cash, sure, but she couldn't afford to do hugely expensive things like that. And if her assessment of Kai was even a little accurate, neither could he.

Time had flown by quickly, but the Airbender was still on course. She stuffed her things into her front pocket, excluding the gun. Her gaze shifted to her bed, where the wrap was lying she'd tossed away earlier.  _You never can be sure enough._

Frustrated, she eventually took the wrap and put it into the pocket of her hoodie and left her room. A brief glance to the clock told her she was right on time, as It was 6:58 pm.

Knocks sounded from the door. Jinora quickly wanted to open it herself, but her sister beat her to it.

 _Damn. If she says one stupid thing, I swear I'm gonna..._  Her train of thoughts, however, was lost when she saw him. He was standing in the door frame with his usual fuzzy, dark brown hair, a green hoodie, black pants, black trainers and a crooked smile which she kind of adored.  _I am really falling for him, am I? ... Wait, stop, Jinora. You don't even know him. He's just some random guy who wants a date with you for reconciliation's sake. So there's no reason for you to actually have feelings for him._

-"Shall we?," he asked, pointing with a thumb to a random direction, his other hand being in his trouser pocket. She just nodded and was about to leave if it hadn't been for Ikki, whom she totally had forgotten.

-"Who is this?"

Kai gave her a questioning look. "You haven't told them?"

"Only my mom, because she's the only one who has to know."  _And because Ikki doesn't have to know everything._

-"Well, I wanna know too!," Ikki insisted.

"He's my date," she matter-of-factly replied. Before her sister could ask any other question, Jinora and Kai had already left.

On their way, there was no real conversation. One of them would make a compliment from time to time if they weren't busy with lumbering around.

"Well, I hope you like noodles," Kai eventually said. They stopped and a familiar restaurant came into view.  _Not the most perfect place for a first date, but not shabby either._

"You gotta love Narook's. In my opinion it's the best eating place here, despite of its difference in comparison to other fancy places like Kwong's. You know, people tend to think that this place is sleazy just because of the low prizes because according to them 'low prize means bad quality'. I can't understand those guys. I mean, you can get the best noodles here."

"Yeah, I agree. Just because it might be different doesn't mean it's bad." They went inside. It wasn't a big surprise to see it almost empty regarding the competition, but it didn't lose its charm. And lucky for them, they easily got a seat. When a waiter asked them, Kai ordered a bowl of noodles for the two of them.

"So, were you often to Narook's?," Jinora asked. "It seems like you really like this place."

"I just love those noodles actually," he said casually. A smile came across her face. "How are you related to this place? I suppose you're not someone who's actually attracted to food," he said, grinning.

She shrugged. "Sometimes I pick up some food here for home when my mother doesn't have time to cook for us or comes later from work. I actually like the noodles too," she told.

"Good," Kai said satisfied, "or else you wouldn't be human."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You can't be into some noodles that much. It's just food," she stated. He didn't seem to be offended, anyways. "Though, it's damn good stuff. But hey, I don't want to be the guy that tells a girl what food she should like." A sigh of relief escaped her. "...although it's really good stuff," he added, smiling.

She sighed again. "Look, I really don't want to destroy your opinion about noodles. I'm not that type of person that's smashing the idea of noodles of someone else since I know that noodles have a big fan base and it would be inappropriate to stand there alone as a hater which I'm not for the record." He flashed her a smile. "Speaking of noodles, here they are."

The waiter handed them their bowls with the chopsticks over. Kai was about to tell the waiter that he could go when he saw Jinora's confused look at her bowl. "Is something wrong?," he asked. She looked up, suddenly being a little ashamed. "Well, I expected there to be a kind of soup in it. I really don't like eating dry things. I know that the noodles are juicy, but I am used to have a drink too usually."

He held his hand up. "No problem. I'll fix it." He turned to the waiter. "Some tea for the lady, please." The waiter nodded before walking off again, leaving the two alone. Blushing a bit, Jinora said, "That wasn't necessary. Thanks though." He casually waved it off. "Hey, no big deal, really. After all, that's how a gentleman treats a lady." She gave him another smile.

Both then turned their attention to their noodles. While eating, Jinora would shoot her date a few glances which stayed unnoticed. Some time later, she got her drink. "Thanks," she said, before the waiter left. She took a few sips, but stopped when noticing Kai's stare. "Is something?," she asked. He cringed. "Uh, no. Just thinking your way of drinking... nice, yeah."

She raised a brow. "You think my 'way of drinking' is 'nice'?"

He scratched his neck. "Well, yeah. Kinda sorta. Y' know, funny, sweet, uh, cute. Yeah.."

She blushed. "Thanks.. I guess." Without saying anything, they continued with eating, though there was a relaxed atmosphere between them.

Eventually, Jinora asked, "How does it come that you got into this business?" She felt a bit uncomfortable asking such a private thing, but a date is supposed to bring someone closer to each other which meant to share events of life.

He wasn't taken aback, anyways. "You mean to mug people? Well, let's say that my motivation for school wasn't the highest. I am living with foster parents who only have mild interest in me to say the most. And that's how I got into this whole 'mug-and-threaten-people-or-get-shot-by-a-pretty-drugdealer'-thing."

Jinora didn't know what to say. On one side, she was speechless, on the other side, she admired his relaxed attitude.  _He thinks you're pretty._  At the end, she put up a faint smile. "At least you seem to be okay with it. And you're not the one who's gotta care for four people including yourself. I don't know which part's worse: the drug dealing or my siblings." Her mood darkened a little at the thought of her siblings. Kai chuckled at this.

"Well, you gotta go with the flow. I'm taking whatever chance I get. You need to cool off. Granted, a hard thing to do, considering you're being in torrid zone." She chuckled.

"I might get to it."

The rest of the date went really well with both of them enjoying their time together. It was the perfect opportunity to get the mind off, plus things seemed to work out great with Kai.  _Maybe this whole thing really's got some benefits._

In the end, they were standing outside the restaurant again, about to each go their separate ways, something that Jinora was, strangely enough, not looking forward to. "Thanks Kai. I... I really enjoyed tonight. With you, I mean," she quickly added.

He just smiled, ignoring how badly she was stumbling over her words. "I liked it too." He looked deep into her eyes, and it seemed that for the first time, Jinora noticed just how bright green his eyes were.  _Beautiful._  His eyes briefly flicked down to her mouth, and she couldn't help but gently bite her lip.

Next thing she knew, his lips were on hers,  _though in all fairness it's partially because you are pulling yourself up by clinging onto his neck and standing on your toes. Damn you, short genetics._  What surprised her most of all was just how good a kisser he was. For all their talk of noodles and the fact that he had nearly rammed a knife between her ribs, Kai was a nice kid, just like she had suspected.

_Not to mention that he tastes delicious._

Jinora mentally facepalmed, before he broke the kiss again, a massive smile forming on both their faces.

-"Is that an invitation to a second date?" he asked, his smile morphing back into its usual crooked self.

The girl faintly blushed, and bashfully brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I think it is."

* * *

"What are you talking about, we can't just drop this! It was a double homicide in broad fucking daylight!" Lin was glad it was only her and Saikhan in the room right now, because if he would be keeping this up, she would yell the entire station into the room thinking there was a war going on.

-"Lin, calm down. You remember how pessimistic that kid was?"

"Of course I do, and what I really want is to prove him wrong, that the criminals can't rule this city!"

Saikhan let out a long sigh. "You know what happened to that kid? He took a bullet to the stomach, they put him in the hospital."

This took her completely by surprise. Someone had actually shot him because he opened his mouth? If that was really the case, damn, Saikhan was right, as much as she hated to admit it. "Well, that gives us an extra reason to catch these bastards."

-"Lin, I want to catch them, but you have to be realistic. We have no leads. No suspects. Unregistered guns. And most of all, the line of people that wanted those guys dead stretches out the door and around the block."

She fell back into her chair and sighed, before pointing an accusing finger at her partner. "You know, with that attitude, it's a small wonder the criminals are ruling this town. You let them go the moment things start working against you."

He got an expression on his face like he was just forced to eat a very sour lemon, and looked like he was about to chew her out completely, when they got company from higher up. "Lin?" She turned around, looking straight at Captain Tarrlok. "A word please?" he asked, and walked back into his office.

Neither of them argued, and she followed him. "What's this about?"

-"Do you know why I had you transferred here?" he asked, not a hint of remorse in his voice.

" _You_  did that? The report said it came down from the top. You must have a lot of brass in your pocket," she snidely remarked, making a loose jab at the fact that she had her suspicions he was corrupt.

Tarrlok just smiled. "Well, if you want to surround yourself with the best people, you don't need brass on your side, you need suits and ties." He paused for a moment. Lin realized her transfer, which she fought of course, was organized by the City, not by her superior. "Lin, you have been working here for about six weeks now. I want your assessment of Saikhan."

She squinted, cautiously eyeing Tarrlok up. Either he was playing her, in which case he was very good at covering up his true intentions, because it didn't look like he was lying. She decided to at least probe him, see what it brought her. "I think he lacks a spine. He's too easily tempted to do what is easy instead of what is right."

A slight smile tugged on the corners of Tarrlok's mouth, and he nodded approvingly. "Very good. That is precisely the reason I wanted you here." He stood up, and walked to the window, staring out. "I am well-aware of my reputation. People call me rude, brutal, even corrupt. And while it is true that I play loosely with the rules for the sake of the greater good, people don't tend to see that." He turned around again. "I love this city, and I want to fix it. That is why I pulled a lot of strings to have you transferred down here. You are tough as nails, incorruptible, and came with the highest recommendations from all of your previous superiors."

Lin raised a questioning eyebrow. "What are you getting at, sir?"

-"Have you heard of an individual called The General?"

She shook her head. Even though the name sounded vaguely familiar to her, she didn't know enough about him to make it worthwhile hearing Tarrlok's assessment of him.

-"The General is a kingpin in the drug ring here in the Dragon Flats. He sells pretty much everything he can get his hands on, and he has an army of dealers backing him. Now those guys are a dime a dozen in Republic City, but this guy is gaining influence, and fast. I've been trying to pin him for three years straight, but every time this bastard manages to slip away. There is nothing on him, no evidence, no fingerprints, no picture, we don't even have a name. But I know he's there."

"With all due respect, I'm in Homicide, not Narcotics."

-"Well, don't worry, this guy leaves a trail of bodies. There'll be plenty of both to work with. Those two on Taku were among them, so if you can catch whoever did that, you'll be one step closer to catching The General."

"And I take it I can't tell Saikhan about this?"

Tarrlok shook his head. "Well, it'd be hard to keep him out, wouldn't you think? But don't get me wrong Lin: you're in charge on this one. You track down every lead you can get your hands on, even if normal logic tells you it's a massive leap. And when you find something, you report it to me, and no one else, understand?"

"Yes sir."

-"Good, then you are dismissed."

Lin stood up, and sighed. Tarrlok did have a reputation, and he described it perfectly, and it was the primary reason she didn't trust him. But it was hard to argue with his reasoning. Why would he trust her with this, if he would stand to lose a lot of income if she actually did catch The General?  _Well, either that, or he's on the side of the opposition, but then they would need very deep pockets if what this guy says is true._  It was not looking very good for her.

* * *

Asami's lips skimmed over Korra's collarbone, as the pale girl kissed her way down the dealer's neck. She was back in The Triangle Club, only this time just to see Asami, not to supply Varrick with another bag of drugs for a change. They had quickly made their way into 'their' back-way private room, earning themselves a few crooked glances from various people, as Asami was the main attraction of the club.

Korra had already rid herself of her hoodie, and was now leaning back comfortably in the soft sofa the room offered, and between that and the sweet vodka mix they had procured themselves a bottle of, it was exceedingly comfortable.

Of course, she was slightly worried about Jinora finally entering the dating scene, not to mention that she had her doubts about the boy she was going on a date with. Even though Bolin assured her not to worry and that was a good kid, she couldn't help it. After all, he had proven himself willing to stab her before, or he could be out for revenge... Anything was possible really.

-"What's on your mind, gorgeous?" Asami asked, picking up on Korra's nerves.

"Oh, it's just, Jinora is going on a date, and it's just bothering me a little bit, know what I mean?"

-"Hmm-hm..." the stripper purred, snaking her hand under Korra's tank top, and gently started nibbling on her earlobe. She brushed over her well-defined abs, something that Korra took a lot of pride in. She worked out every day,  _fuck no, not in a gym, bunch of ball-washin' bastards,_  not when a bucket of water and a few cinderblocks on a broomstick would do it as well. Korra let out a low moan when Asami pressed a few kisses on the skin behind her ear, which had always been a soft spot for her.

-"Have you ever considered that you worry too much?" Asami asked, breaking away for a bit, before continuing her work on the other side.

Korra let out a soft moan at the sensation, and it became increasingly hard to focus on the problems on her mind with Asami working her up like this, especially with a hand under her top. "I just... oohhh, that's good..." she breathed, interrupting herself. "I just think that... I've been worrying about her for most of my life, and now I dragged her into my line of work as well."

The stripper let her hand slide down to the hem of Korra's pants, subtly undoing the button. It was hard to focus on anything other than the extremely scantily clad girl, who was dressed in her typical black lace, and that was about it, if you didn't count the four-inch heels. Not to mention, with her thumb already brushing the inside hem of her boyshorts, thinking straight was becoming incrementally harder.

-"Korra, just stop worrying about Jinora for a moment, and just relax," Asami purred, slipping her hand further into Korra's underwear, gently rubbing her swiftly wettning folds. It got another throaty moan from the dealer, and it brought a smile to Asami's face. She slipped her finger just a little bit further down, brushing them past her opening before pushing two in. 'Just let it happen," the stripper breathed, before gently pulling on her bottom lip with her teeth, and pulling her in for a hot, wet kiss.

Korra moaned loudly at the sensation of Asami slipping two fingers inside her, and the wave of heat it sent racing through her body was quickly getting the better of her.  _Damn, it's been far too long since we did this._  The stripper worked her other hand up, gently cupping Korra's breast, softly pinching the nipple to get another moan from Korra. She didn't even bother undoing the bra, she just pushed it up, but it would do the trick.

And then everything fell into place. Asami rubbed her thumb past the dealer's clit a few times, and between everything, it was her undoing. Bolts of electricity raced through Korra, sending an amazing feeling of pleasure to the furthest reaches of her body, and it made her moan  _loud._

Asami got a massive smile on her face as she let Korra come back around. The dealer wrapped her arms around her neck, and pulled her in for a firm kiss. The stripper yanked her hand out of Korra's pants, and held it out in front of her not-girlfriend to lick her fingers clean, which she perfectly did. For Korra, it was like rewarding Asami for what she just did, as the stripper didn't want he same from her.

Korra shifted her bra back in place, and buttoned up her pants again, building up courage for what she  _actually_  came to do here. Even though she would never admit it to his face, Bolin was kind of right about her relationship with Asami. Maybe it was time she moved it out of this room, and into the outside world. "Asami?" she hesitatingly asked.

-"Hmm?" the stripper purred in response, comfortably leaning into the strong body of the dealer.

"Would you like to go on a real date with me?"

This made her look up. "Are you serious here?"

"Yeah, I am. We've been at this for a few months now, it's about time we made this about more than just fucking around, at least, I think we should."

Asami looked doubtful. "Korra, I'm not exactly prime dating material, you know that. I get paid to undress with a hundred men staring at me, over and over again. I can't give this up just so I can date you."

Korra sighed. "I know, but I wouldn't ask you to. My line of work isn't exactly on top of 'preferred jobs' on dating sites either. There aren't a lot of people I trust with this side of me, and you're one of them. If you can accept me the way I am, I can do the same for you."

A massive smile broke across the stripper's face at Korra's comment, clearly not having heard that from someone before. "I can do that," she smirked. "And I'd definitely like to go on that date with you."

Korra smiled back, a pulled Asami in for a quick kiss.  _Eat that, Bolin._


	11. Soldier of Misfortune

It had been a month since her first date with Kai, and things between them couldn't be better. Jinora had picked her regular schedule back up, and because she spent less time out on the streets, her grades were steadily climbing again. Aside from plenty of teasing from her siblings, all of which she ignored, they were doing great. Even though Jinora had her doubts about dating a petty criminal, Kai was just a big fuzzy sweetheart when it all came down to it. He had very limited funds just like she had, but he still went out of his way to make it work for both of them. Go to a movie here, get a drink there, and of course the occasional make-out session after dating.

Miraculously enough, she had managed to talk Korra into going on a double date which turned out to be great fun.  _'Three criminals and a stripper walk into a bar,' Kai couldn't resist saying. Sounds like the beginning to a bad joke._  Still, the evening turned out good for all of them, and it was definitely something to be repeated.

Unfortunately, not tonight. Kai had been tipped off by his friends on an easy break-in that was just too good to pass up. This left Jinora alone for the evening. She was quietly reading a book in her room when her phone rang. When she answered, it turned out to be Korra.

-"We need you, at the den, as soon as you can."

"What? It's my night off."

-"This comes directly from The General. He doesn't mess around with this, so you better take him seriously."

Jinora sighed. "Alright. I'm on my way."

-"And Jin?" Korra hesitated for a moment. "Bring the rain, and don't forget the mask."

Korra hung up immediately after, but Jinora knew what she meant. Reluctantly, she threw on her hoodie, tied the bandana around her neck, and stuffed her gun in her front pocket.

It was drizzling, so the walk to the den turned into more of a jog. She was slightly out of breath when she walked in, and saw Iroh, Korra and Tahno stand over a table with ammunition and empty magazines that they were quickly filling up. She grew a bit suspicious at this, and was suddenly feeling a trickle of doubt.

"What's all this?" she asked to no one in particular.

-"You're joining us for a raid," Iroh answered. "There are some people who screwed me over and they need to be taught a lesson. That's what we are going to do, and I want you there with us." Iroh handed her an extra full magazine, which she recognized as one that would fit in her gun.

"What did they do?"

-"The cut up my product, yet they keep selling it under the same name and for the same price. They use the rest of it themselves, thinking they can get away with fucking me like that. There are four of them, and it's The Red Lotus that I've mentioned before. It's a shame to see them go, they were very profitable for years. But now they have decided to cut me out of my share, so I will turn them into a cautionary tale."

She was very hesitant to take it, and Iroh picked up on this. "Jinora, you're nervous, and I understand that. I mean, the first raid always does that to people." He paused for a moment. "You know how we play by certain rules? The people we are about to visit, they don't. They sell to whoever they want to, even kids. They're also threatening to sell us out to the heat, and they know about you. What we're about to do is self-preservation."

"Still... Are you... asking me to kill people? That's not what I signed on for."

Iroh sighed. "I can't have you just in on the easy part and rake in the profits, but back out of the part that no one likes. You're either in or you're not. Korra warned you about the ugly side of this work, and this is what the ugly side looks like."

Jinora weighed her options. She couldn't walk away now, that much was certain. No way in hell would Iroh let her. Plus, he was kind of right, she had been warned about it turning ugly. But this...? This was not what she had imagined. She thought things had been bad when she had to pull her gun on Kai, and he forced her into a corner. Now though, Iroh was telling her to actively seek out a fight, something Jinora had never been a fan of. She always had been one for avoiding those, certainly when people were bound to die.

Korra picked up on Jinora's hesitation. She walked over to the room next to it, signaling Jinora to follow her. "Give us a minute, guys."

After Korra shut the door behind them, she slowly turned to face Jinora. "Look, Jin, I don't like this either. I don't like that Iroh is making you go along with this, but he made up his mind. He wants you there, and there is nothing I could do to talk him out of it."

"Korra, I'm not some kind of killer! You know why I'm in it, for the money, and nothing else. Can't he get some people who get a kick out of this shit?"

Korra sighed. "I told you, he wants you there, no discussion. You don't have a choice, not if you want to keep up the streak you have going on here." She lowered her voice and continued on a whisper. "There is a bright side. We have made a plan to split up into two teams, he and Tahno will go along the fire escape, while you and I go in through the front door. I don't care if you miss every shot you fire, but you can't walk away from there with two full mags. You hear me?"

She felt somewhat relieved, but still wasn't entirely at ease. Iroh had handed her one mag extra, and she was already walking around with a loaded gun. Fourteen shots, and she had to fire them in the general direction of people. That would mean they had awfully bad chances, given that they would most likely be high off their ass. But if they were, their chances where already nill, given that Iroh and Tahno would have no problems pumping them full of lead. Then there was Korra, who didn't like it, but she would do it if Iroh asked.

"Alright," Jinora said. "But will you cover for me if I do that?"

Korra smiled. "Of course I would. Why do you think I'm here?"

This did make Jinora feel somewhat better. She was certainly glad she hadn't gone through with her bluff of going to someone else. Korra would always look out for her, and that already put Jinora at ease somewhat.

They stepped outside again, just as Iroh slid a magazine into his gun, cocked, and holstered it, all on muscle memory. "Did Korra fill you in on the plan?" he asked.

Jinora simply nodded.

-"Good. Now, the place they're in has a very simple lay-out. One open room, and an open kitchen with the counter pointing the wrong way. The only closed off room is the bathroom, but they could also find cover in the kitchen. Now Tahno and I can cover the kitchen from the fire escape, but the crapper is out of our reach, and with this hardware, we can't punch through the walls, so don't let them get into there. The fire escape is at the left wall from the front door, so don't shoot in our direction."

-"Don't worry," Korra said with a smirk. "We won't."

Iroh nodded. "Alright, then let's roll." He preceded them down the stairs, and they decided to walk to the building they were supposedly in. She put up her hood, trying to stay dry as much as she could. It was quite a walk, and the gun felt heavy in Jinora's pocket. She really wasn't looking forward to what was about to happen, but Korra was right. She didn't have a choice.

Eventually, they were in the shittiest part of the Dragon Flats, which made Jinora feel decidedly uncomfortable. She knew of this place, but her mother always warned her not to go here.  _Another thing she'd be disappointed to hear. Along with, you know, the whole 'your daughter has turned to drugdealing.' Yep. This should be good._

-"This is it," Iroh eventually said. Jinora looked up at a building that was in extremely bad shape. The door probably hadn't had a lick of fresh paint in over twenty years, and she didn't even want to guess how long the windows hadn't been cleaned. "Third floor, apartment 303, and wait for my signal," Iroh said.

Korra nodded, and led Jinora inside through a door which had its lock busted years ago, by the looks of things. They silently walked up to the third floor, and picked out the right door. Jinora's heartbeat was speeding up, and it was now almost painful in her chest. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, but it didn't work. Korra pulled out her gun, and leaned against the side of the door with the hinges. Jinora did the same, and switched the selector to 'fire'.

A buzz came from Korra's phone, which was Iroh's signal. 10 seconds left until Korra would kick down the door. Jinora pulled her bandana over her nose, covering her mouth with black fabric with the three blue spirals on it.

Time seemed to slow down. To say that Jinora had ever been more nervous, or scared, or angry at herself for letting herself get pushed into this corner, would be an understatement. But now here she was, about to get into a firefight with four other criminals.  _'Other' being the operative term here._

Korra held up her hand, telling her that there were five more seconds left. Jinora took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She opened them again when she heard a loud crash, signaling that Korra had actually kicked the door down. She raised her gun, past the door frame, pointing to a corner of the room. There was actually someone there, not that that mattered to Jinora. She rapidly pulled the trigger a few times on a row, while she also heard Korra's gun go off. That was the far louder one, which was in Jinora's advantage.

Jinora spotted a shotgun from the corner of her eye, and ducked back behind her wall just in the nick of time. There was a loud shot, quickly followed by a cloud of dust and a rain of splinters from the wall and doorframe.  _Damn, that nearly cost you your life._  There was a surge of adrenaline racing through her body, as she stuck her gun around the door again, but this time was firing blindly in the direction of the shotgun until her pistol clicked empty.

Korra did the opposite, she leaned around the doorpost, actually aiming down her gun while Jinora reloaded. Even though she couldn't see what was happening, the loud cry of pain and a dull thud told her enough: at least one of them was already down.

Her hands were shaking, but she managed to slide in a new magazine, and cocked the slide again. She heard how Iroh and Tahno were still firing, and judging by the sounds of it, shot another one of the Red Lotus. Korra looked over to Jinora, and gave her a small nod. They stuck their guns around the doorpost at the same time, and Jinora finally got a read on where they were. One had thrown over the table, and the other had ducked behind the kitchen counter. Korra took aim at the one behind the table, so Jinora just shot in the direction of the kitchen.

A splatter of blood appeared on the wall behind the table, meaning that whoever was behind it was now dead. This was confirmed by the fact that he was no longer shooting back. Jinora shot one more time at the kitchen counter, and heard her gun click empty again.  _Finally._  She ducked back behind the wall, and Korra had to do the same to reload again. The last one used this time to shoot at the fire escape again, in an attempt to get into the bathroom.

Korra was about to open fire again, when Iroh's voice stopped her. "Hold fire!" he yelled, and Korra did. "Zaheer! Give up, you're outgunned and outnumbered!" Nothing happened, so Tahno and Iroh stepped through the window. "Don't make us come get you, it will only be more painful for you that way!"

-"Stop," Zaheer said calmly, and kicked his gun along the floor, out of the bathroom. He stepped out with his hands in the air. "Do what you have to," he firmly stated. Korra signaled Jinora that they should walk in there too, and so they stepped out of their cover.

Now the gunfire had stopped, Jinora had a chance to properly look around the small apartment. The air was heavy with the sickly smell of blood, which was all over the place. There were three bodies strewn across the room. She saw the shotgun that had nearly killed her next to a giant woman with a tattoo on her forehead, and next to her was another woman with pitch-black hair. There was a guy with long hair dead behind the table, and his brains were on the wall behind it. Jinora felt like throwing up, but swallowed it for sake of keeping up appearances.

-"Airbender." Iroh's voice pulled her back into reality. "Give me your gun," he demanded.

She wasn't sure why he would want her gun. It was the smallest one here, and more importantly, it was empty. "Umm, sure," she said, while handing it over. "I'm out though."

-"I know," Iroh said. "I was counting on it." He took a new magazine from his back pocket, and slid it into Jinora's gun. "On your knees," he told Zaheer. The short, bald man complied, not even a hint of protest. Iroh smiled. "Any last words?"

-"Make it quick," Zaheer evenly replied.

Jinora took a deep breath, realizing that she was about to witness an execution.

As it turned out, it would be worse than she could have ever imagined.

Iroh grabbed the gun by the barrel, and held it out to her again. "Airbender, you're going to do this one."

She whipped her head around to face Iroh. " **WHAT**?!"

His face was as calm as ever. "You heard me. I want you to kill him."

* * *

_More frequent updates, as promised. The chapter title is a reference to a poster in GTA Vice City, which you can see in Phil's trailer: ''Soldiers of Misfortune: they left together. They came back in pieces.'' Later folks!_


	12. Making a Choice

Jinora could only stare at him in disbelief. "You want me to do _what_?!"

-"I don't like repeating myself. Take it," Iroh said, shaking the gun.

Her hands were trembling tremendously, even more than they were before the shooting started. Her heart was beating what felt like 200 beats a minute. It was hard enough to feel painful in her chest. The only thing faster than that, was her mind. It was racing a mile a minute now, trying to grasp all possible aspects of her situation.

He really wanted her to do it. There was not a trace of morbid irony on Iroh's face, which was what she was kind of hoping for. The thing was, she couldn't figure out why. He didn't just want Zaheer dead, he could have done that himself and just get it over with. He specifically wanted  _her_  to do it, but for what? To prove herself loyal to him? She had never done anything to make him think otherwise. Hell, she was one of his most productive assets. The crackhouse on Gaoling alone meant she had a regular address, which was a rarity. A sure way to get paid a big sum every week, that was something most dealers could only dream of. Little risk, big reward, a perfect combination.

Iroh's feverish shaking of the gun finally did convince Jinora to take it. It felt heavy in her hand, heavier than it ever had. She wanted to do nothing more than throw it away and run down to the street, back to her own house. To break down and convince herself this never happened.

But she couldn't.

There were no ways in which this scenario would play out in her favor. She was fucked, no matter what would happen next.

If she didn't kill Zaheer, Iroh would do it anyway. Zaheer was dead, that much was certain. What would also happen is that Iroh wouldn't take her seriously anymore, if he would keep her on at all. He could easily send someone else to take care of the crackhouse, and The Innkeeper would never notice the difference. It would also mean that she would be right back at square one, and that the past few months of doing all kinds of nasty shit that she never thought she would do, all would have been for nothing. A couple of weeks of release, and straight back into the cesspool.

Jinora thought of Kai. She had shot him, and couldn't have been happier that he survived. Even if when she didn't know who he really was, she felt so relieved when Bolin told her that he would make it. That was out of the question now. If she shot Zaheer, it would have to be in such a way that he was dead. There would be no faking it, no second chances for either of them. No lucking out and a miracle rescue so that she wouldn't have a body resting on her conscience.

 _And what would your mom think?_  Jinora could only imagine the look of disapppiontment on Pema's face. Her mother had done nothing but support her, motivate her to make the most of her life, even with the limited options she had. Yet here she was, on the verge of making a decision that would stick with her for life, namely whether or not to end his. Then there was the delicate question of her siblings. If she would do it and it got out, would she ever be allowed near her siblings again?  _Balance of probability says 'no', and for good reason. You wouldn't blame her if she renounces you as her daughter._

But there was also the flip side: could she live with herself if she  _did_  do it? If she actually would pull the trigger, how would she be better than him? Oh sure, Jinora supplied the poorest, unluckiest people in the city with the means to self-destruct, but she could at least justify that a little bit with the notion that they did it to themselves, and that she did it in order to save her family. But how would she live with the knowledge that she had killed, no,  _executed_  a man? Even if that man was a scumbag, lowest of the low, a criminal since the day he had been born? No one would miss him, in fact, the world would probably be a better place without him. But that didn't mean he deserved to die just like that. He was still a living human being, someone with a soul.

Not that he seemed to care very much. He was almost waiting for her to do it just as much as Iroh was. The way he looked at Jinora, it was almost as if he was taunting her, like she wouldn't have the guts to do it.  _That wouldn't be very far from the truth, if we're really honest here._  With a shaking hand, she raised the gun, pointing it at Zaheer's head.

She looked over to Korra. The mask she was wearing made it difficult for Jinora to gauge her feelings, but the eyes were pretty clear: she was hoping that Jinora wouldn't do it. Korra clearly hated Iroh for forcing her into this corner, but she could do even less about it than Jinora could. If she would speak up, or even worse, shoot Zaheer herself, they would both lose their respect from Iroh, and possibly even their positions. Korra might as well have not been there, it would probably make things easier for the both of them.

-"Do it," Iroh said. "I want to get out of here before the heat shows up."

Jinora felt a shudder go through her. This was the point of no return. Whatever choice she would make, she'd have to live with it. She looked Zaheer in the eyes. There was no regret of any kind, nothing at all. He wouldn't plead for her to walk away, to spare his life, and let him go.

"I'm sorry," Jinora whispered. She closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger.

* * *

_Please don't hate me too much._


	13. It Takes a Toll

Jinora felt deflated. That was the best word to describe her at that point in time. After she shot Zaheer, they quickly made their way out of the area, back towards the den. Fortunately, Korra decided differently. She guided her unofficial little sister home, determined not to make Jinora spend another second in the same room as Iroh.

They didn't say anything the entire way back from the Red Lotus' hideout, which was a long way from Pema's apartment. Once they were standing in front of the building, Korra broke the silence. "Look, Jinora..." she cautiously opened, but then sighed, as she didn't really know what to say.

"Just go, Korra," Jinora bit back, not wanting to have anything to do with her right now.

-"Do you think I had anything to do with this? That I knew Iroh was going to make you do this?" She briefly paused, and Jinora realized she was right. Korra was the one who was protecting her, telling her that she would be fine as long as she emptied both clips. "He caught me off-guard as well, but we both knew that you were fucked, no matter what would have happened next."

Jinora nodded, turning her gaze away from Korra. "Did I make the right choice?" she asked, though she was asking it as much to herself as she was to her unofficial older sister.

The older girl sighed again. "I don't know," she said in a low voice. "Alright, here's what we're going to do: you are going to bed, sleep this all off, and we'll pick this conversation up again in the morning. Meanwhile, I am going to yell at Iroh. Sound good?"

"I guess..." Jinora vaguely muttered, before turning the key in the lock. Korra gave her a small if insincere smile, and the younger girl walked upstairs, but with every step felt more and more like she shouldn't. She wasn't just a relatively harmless dealer anymore, she was a full-on criminal now. An executioner. A murderer.

As she stood in front of her door, she reached out for the doorknob, but the wave of guilt that washed over her left her unable to actually open the door and walk in. If she did that, she would have to confront her mother, her sister, her brothers. Ikki might even be able to piece together that she shot someone, given her current demeanor. She felt her pocket, and aside from her gun, felt something strange. She took it out, and realized it was the 150 yuans she made over the past week. It had been a good one. Jinora took one last deep breath, turned around, and left the building again.

This time though, she didn't just mindlessly wander the streets, no, she knew exactly where she was going. It had been a while since she went there, but it was the best place she could think of right now. Once Jinora had arrived at the bar, she simply plonked herself down on one of the bar stools, eyeing the barkeeper up. "Shiro," she blankly greeted him.

He seemed a bit puzzled at first, but ultimately the light went on. "Ah! Now I remember you. You're Korra's friend, aren't you?" Jinora slowly nodded in confirmation. "Good, my memory doesn't betray me, even though I am blanking on your name."

"Jin."

-"Right, that was it. What can I get you?"

"Something strong. Just give me a heads up when this runs out," she said, slapping a 50 yuan bill on the counter. He raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her any further. He set to work preparing a rather large glass of vodka for her, and even in her fucked-up condition, Jinora could see that even the most determined alcoholic would struggle to down that in one gulp. She took it a bit easier, but still chugged it back like it was a glass of water, the alcohol burning in her throat.

Shiro eyed her up with a raised eyebrow, yet there was a distinct undercurrent of worry in his voice. "Are you alright?"

"Just perfect," she groaned, slamming the glass back down onto the counter. "Give me a another."

Even though he seemed to have his doubts, he did oblige, refilling her glass. With the worst of the edge already taken care of by the previous glass, Jinora took it a lot easier on the second one. She was certainly starting to feel the numbing effects of the alcohol, as her problems suddenly didn't seem so far fetched anymore.

She had soon finished the second glass, and signaled Shiro for a third. And a fourth. And a fifth.

Each one took her longer, and by the time she clogged back the sixth, she felt like the chair she was on was spinning, and she had trouble piecing together the words. "Reffffill..." she slurred, letting her head rest on her arm that was sprawled out over the bar. But for the first time, Shiro refused.

-"No," he firmly stated. "I will not have you drink yourself to death in my bar, so we are ending this now."

Jinora managed to lift up her head. "What? F-fuck you, I paid!"

-"Yes you did, and now I'm giving you your change," he said, putting a wad of cash right in front of her. "You're not kidding anyone, I know you're not 18, but I figured, if you want to get shit-faced, you're going to do it with or without me, so I might as well keep you in a position where I can keep an eye on you."

She groaned in response, still able to realize that he was kind of right.

-"Give me your phone, I'm going to call Korra so that she can take care of you."

A pang of fear shot through her. She definitely did not want Korra to see her now. "Nooo," Jinora breathed. "Not Kooorra."

He took her phone, which she had placed on the counter because he hated the way it stung her thigh when she sat down, _fucking girl's pants without decent fucking pockets,_  and unlocked it. "Alright, tell you what. You have fifteen seconds to tell me who else to call, or I'm calling Korra either way."

"You fucker..." she slurred, and reached forward, trying to take her phone back from him, but only succeeded in knocking over the now nearly empty bottle and a few glasses.

-"Ten seconds."

"Ffffine!" Jinora sighed. "Kai," she said, thinking he was the lesser of three evils here, between Korra, her mom, and him. She saw how Shiro scrolled through her phonebook, and called someone with her phone. That was pretty much the last thing she remembered before passing out.

* * *

When Korra walked back into Iroh's den, he was sitting quite comfortably on one of the sofa's, while Tahno was relaxing in the barcalounger, both of them sipping on a beer and looking utterly content with themselves. "Hey Korra, join the party," Iroh cheerfully declared, and held out an open beer to her. Korra lost it, smacked the bottle out of his hand, and it shattered on the wall in an explosion of glass and beer.

"What the fuck is your problem?! You make her clip a guy in the fucking brains, and for what?! To prove her loyalty?! She never did  _anything_  to suggest she isn't!"

Iroh and Tahno both stood up, slightly more on guard now that it was clear to them that Korra was seething with rage.

-"Hey, you listen..." Tahno started, but Korra didn't let him finish. She spun around, grabbing him by the throat, and pushed him against the wall, lifting him up a few inches. "No, you listen to me," she hissed. "You get the fuck out of here. If I see your face again tonight, I swear to Raava, I'll shove my gun up your ass and pull the trigger until it goes 'click'.  _Understand_?" He was starting to discolor from the lack of air and he faintly tried to nod.

-"Korra, put him down," Iroh calmly ordered. She complied, throwing Tahno down, while he gasped for air again. Iroh nodded in his direction, and he left. "You obviously have some issues with what I made Jinora do. Now would be a good time to let that out."

She took a deep breath, collecting herself again before countering. "Why did you make her shoot Zaheer? You could have done it yourself, get it over with."

The General sighed, obviously not very happy with it either. "It was not to test her loyalty, I don't really question that. What I do question is her resolve, or at least, I did. It was to make sure that she was fully on board with us, and that she would stay that way. Drug trafficking is something the authorities are willing to let go for the right information, but a first degree murder? That's something else entirely. She'd be going away for a long time."

"Leverage. That's what you did it for? Did you really think that wanting to keep her family safe isn't enough of a reason for her to keep working for you?!"

-"It's a reason for her to keep her mouth shut, but I need to know that she'll do what is necessary, and now I do." Iroh gave her a hard stare. "Korra, Don't you realize this is a good thing? By morning, the entire town will know not to fuck with us. What's more, no one will try to fuck with The Airbender, otherwise you get a bullet to the brain. She's safer because of this, and I know you can only like that."

Korra had a hard time not scoffing. "Safer? From who? Down-on-their-luck streetkids trying to rob her in an alley?" She stood right in front of him, and even though Iroh was easily a full head taller than her, she could see him cower away, clearly unable to predict her next move. "Jinora might not be at risk from other people, but right now, she's a danger to herself. If something happens to her, it's on you." With that, she turned around, slamming the door shut behind her.

* * *

When she came back around, everything was spinning. Jinora felt a pair of strong arms carrying her, and she half-fought to get free, and the arms put her back on her own two feet again. This however, turned out to be a poor decision, as she almost instantly lost her balance, and was forced to latch on to whoever it was that was carrying her. She looked up, surprised to see Kai's green eyes. "Heyyy sweetie," she slurred, and let her head rest on his shoulder.

-"Jinora, you're drunk."

"No I'm not!"

Kai frowned at her. "You can't even stand on your own two feet, let alone walk back home." He thought for a while. "I take it you rather wouldn't have me take you to your mother?"

This made her spirits drop, and her face fell too. "Nooooo... D-don't take me home!" Her mother would probably murder her if she came in like this. Or at least lock her away until she was 21. "C-c-can I ssstay with you?"

This made him sigh. "Alright, but can you at least walk if I hold you?"

"Of course you can, sweetie..." Jinora slurred, only half aware of what he was saying. Kai took it as confirmation, and locked arms with her, making sure that she would have a proper anchor to hold on to. He walked them back to the house of his foster parents, neither of which he got along with. The half hour-walk helped a little bit in sobering her up, but it still wasn't brilliant. At least she could walk on her own again by the time she got to Kai's place, which was nice. Navigating three flights of stairs however, was not. Jinora needed quite a bit of Kai's help to get up to the correct floor, but he took it like a trooper. His foster-parents were already asleep, so they snuck into Kai's room as quietly as they could, which wasn't very quiet in Jinora's case.

-"You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the floor," Kai simply said. Jinora decided not to argue with him, and sat down, taking off her shoes, pants, and hoodie, and laid down. Everything was spinning for her, but she still managed to choke out a quiet "Thank you" for Kai, before she tried to actually get some sleep.

It would prove to be futile.

Soon after falling asleep, she found herself back in the tiny, disgusting apartment of the Red Lotus, with guns going off everywhere. Everything was flashing, before suddenly dying down, and four hooded figures entered. Jinora found herself sitting on her knees, and the first figure took off her hood. It was Korra. "Why did you do it? I would have protected you!"

Jinora looked over to the second figure, who turned out to be Ikki. "You said you hadn't shot people! You lied to me! To all of us!"

The third figure took off his hood, and it startled her. "Dad?" she asked, unable to believe she was looking in her father's eyes again. "I had such high hopes for you, Jinora," Tenzin said in his deep, calm voice. "You threw everything away."

She turned to the fourth figure, who removed her hood as well. "I didn't raise a murderer," her mother's disappointed voice rang through the air. It hurt more than if she was the one who'd been shot. "I did everything for you, Jinora. I warned you not to go with Korra, and you didn't listen. You abused my trust."

"Mom... I-I didn't mean to! I didn't want to shoot him!" Jinora felt like crying at the way her mother looked at her.

-"You are not my daughter," Pema said, and she turned away, followed swiftly by the others. A fifth figure walked in, and Jinora recognized him as Zaheer. "Don't worry," he said, raising a gun at her head. "I'll make it quick." With that, he pulled the trigger.

Jinora shot up in her bed, and it took her a moment to remember that she wasn't in her own room. She was covered with a gleam of sweat, and she was shaking all over. Her body hadn't rid itself of all the alcohol just yet, but it was on the way to doing that, judging by the lack of instability and the presence of a headache. "Kai," she loudly whispered, trying to wake him up, but not the rest of the people in the house. "Kai, wake up," she urged, gently shaking his shoulder.

He did wake up, and rolled over, looking her straight in the eyes. "What is it?"

Tears started welling up in the corners of her eyes, and Jinora quickly lost her resolve, breaking down right in front of him. Kai didn't say anything, he instead pulled himself up to his bed as well, and pulled her into a tight hug. Having his arms around her comforted her a little bit, but it didn't do anything to rid herself of the images that flashed through her in her dream. She was quietly crying, and was immensely grateful that Kai didn't ask any questions just yet.

He would eventually hear the rumors, because she had no doubt Iroh and Tahno would spread the word that The Airbender blew a guy's brains out because he was messing with her product.

But she sure as hell wasn't going to speed that up.

Eventually, Jinora was empty. She pulled back, and he looked her straight in the eyes again. "Jinora, what happened to you? Getting drunk off your ass is nothing like you, so what made you do it?"

 _Choose now. Tell him the truth or live with the lies._  "I... I can't tell you," she snickered. "You'd hate me for it."

Kai just hugged her a little tighter. "If you don't want to tell me now, that's okay. I won't force you to do that."

Jinora smiled through her tears, feeling a bit more relaxed, but by no means at ease. "Thank you." After a while, Kai slowly pulled back, but still let his hands rest on Jinora's shoulders. There was comfort radiating from them, but not as much as the security she felt when he hugged her.

-"Do you want to go back to sleep?" he asked, a very sincere concern in his voice.

Jinora slowly nodded. "Could you... hold me?" Kai nodded back, and pressed a kiss on her forehead, before she lay down again. Kai lay down behind her, wrapping her securely in his arms. It gave Jinora a sense of safety and comfort, two things she desparately wanted.

It also made her feel something else. As the little spoon in Kai's strong arms, he wasn't doing a very good job at hiding the fact that he was currently flying half-mast, despite the fact that he moved away slightly. It made another idea pop up in Jinora's head.  _Might as well try this one to make yourself feel that little bit better._

 _You killed a man. You're not exactly innocent anymore, so why bother to pretend?_  "Kai..." she whispered, rolling over so that she was facing him again. They were seperated by mere centimeters because of the position they were in, but Jinora didn't let that bother her. "I want you..." she whispered, and leaned in to kiss him. After a few seconds, he pulled back.

-"Jinora, don't. You're half-drunk and whatever it is you did, you're not thinking straight because of it."

"Only half," she threw back, pushing her chest slightly into his. "The other knows that I really want it." Of course it was a lie. Kai was totally, totally right, but the drunk part of her thought it was a good way to forget, and it probably was. Jinora leaned in again, pressing another kiss on his lips.

Kai pushed her away, holding her at a short distance. "Jinora..." he groaned, but she didn't listen. She rolled them both over so that she was on top, pulled her tank top over her head, and discarded it. His eyes roamed down, taking in the newly exposed skin. It made her a bit conscious of herself, worrying that it wasn't enough for him. She had a very slender build, and it wasn't working for her in this case, because she always had to go back and forth between a- and b-cup bras, while a curve on her hips was virtually non-existant.

Not that Kai seemed to care very much. Jinora could feel his breathing hitch underneath her, and she could also feel his erection grow, poking her in the hips. "Hmm," she purred, leaning down next to his ear. "Mouth says no, body says yes..." It would prove to be his undoing.

He cupped her face, pulling her in to kiss her properly this time. She ground her hips into his, making sure he wouldn't suddenly change his mind as his conscience could win over from his lust at any point.

Kai slid his hands around her back, badly fumbling with the clasp of her bra. Jinora smiled, knowing it would be a hurdle for him, so she reached around, covering his hands with her own. "Take your time," she calmly said, and he smiled back. Now that he actually took it easy, he managed to win his battle with the clasp, and Jinora could feel it loosen.

She took a deep breath, realizing that she was about to give herself to someone else completely, but she also knew that she couldn't hesitate for too long. Kai gave her a reassuring smile, and that's when she made her move. Jinora discarded her bra, and reached down to tug Kai's tank top off next.

It wasn't a huge surprise to Jinora that he was fit, but it was  _how fit_  he was that did catch her off guard. "Damn..." she muttered, changing his smile from reassuring to cocky in a matter of moments. Her thumb traced over the scar she had put there herself when she'd shot him in the stomach. She flinched a bit, but he put her at ease again.

-"Not bad yourself," he said, cupping one of her breasts, making her own breathing hitch. Kai gently squeezed getting a quiet moan from Jinora. She did her best to keep it down, knowing that Kai's foster parents could easily hear them in this place, but the pleasure it sent through her made it almost impossible to hold herself back.

Jinora reached down, pushing Kai's boxers down to his knees. She took his rock-hard member in her hand, gently started pumping up and down. Kai did the same to her panties, sliding his fingers through her quickly wettening folds. They both bit their lips at the sensations, and Jinora felt a wave of warmth rise through her.

Kai rolled them over, supporting his own weight on his arms, and leaned in to kiss his girlfriend again. She took this as the green light, and pushed her hips up again, grinding it into his abdomen. He broke away from the kiss, and looked deep into her eyes. "Are you sure?" he asked, a sincere undertone of worry sounding through his voice.

Jinora nodded, and braced herself for the incoming pain. Fortunately, the flash of pain was only very short-lived, and it was soon replaced by pleasure. He looked deep into her eyes, and Jinora felt connected. There was something about feeling him inside her, something that made them feel extremely close, even if it was impossible to physically get closer together.

He gently started rocking his hips back a forward, trying to make it easy for Jinora to get adjusted to the feeling.  _It was easy to sway him, but he is still looking out for you._  Kai rubbed along a particularly sensitive spot on her inner wall, and she choked back a moan, desperately trying to keep the noise down. She cupped his cheeks again, and looked deep into his eyes again. "Right there," she whispered. "Only harder..."

It was all the extra motivation he needed. Jinora spread her legs a little further, giving her boyfriend the room he needed to move that bit harder. She choked back another moan of ecstasy, even though it was increasingly hard to do so. "Fuck... Kai..." she breathed, as she couldn't hold that one in.

-"Oh baby, you're so tight," he breathed back, continuing his thrusts while choking back a grunt himself. "Jin... I'm gonna... fuck..." Jinora herself could feel the pressure build up inside her, and she was hoping that it would last a  _long_ time. The sheer waves of pleasure rolling over her was like nothing she had ever experienced, not even from when she had done it herself. This was so much more intense, so much better than she could ever achieve on her own.

A soft moan did actually escape her mouth this time, for the closer she got to her climax, the harder it became to hold them in. "Kai... I'm close..." she breathed. "Me too babe," he responded.

And then it hit. A wave of warmth washed over Jinora, as her entire body went rigid, and Kai soon followed. The thing was, he hadn't been able to predict it very accurately, and that worked against them. He was still inside of Jinora when he came, and didn't pull out until halfway through, spilling the rest on her belly.

His arms gave in, and he collapsed on top of her, not that she cared very much. Jinora pulled him close again, kissing him before he could say anything.

Kai ultimately broke the kiss, and rolled off of her, grabbing a towel and throwing it to Jinora. "Here. For the mess I made," he smirked, a grin which Jinora returned. She cleaned herself of the sticky mess, before throwing it back. Kai did the same, and put his boxers back on, once again lying down behind her, and wrapping her in his arms. "Sweetie?" she quietly asked.

-"Yes?"

"Thank you," Jinora murmered, before the sleep became too hard for her to fight off anymore.

It was not as peaceful as she'd hoped. It wasn't long before she was back in the apartment of the Red Lotus, and the same scene played. The difference was that this time around, it wasn't Zaheer who came walking up to her, it was Kai. "You used me, Jinora! How could you do this to me?! What am I to you, the means to an end?!"

"Sweetie, no, I..." She sighed, interrupting herself. "I do care about you, a lot."

-"And the price for that is a good fuck." He turned around as well, while Zaheer walked in again, once again shooting her.

Jinora woke up again, still wrapped in Kai's arms. She took a deep breath, as she realized that having sex with him did nothing to assuage her guilt. On the contrary, now she didn't only feel guilty about shooting Zaheer, she had added the guilt of abusing Kai's trust and hormone levels.

She sighed. "Fuck..." she quietly muttered. It was promising to be a long night.

* * *

Korra woke up with a loud groan, trying to discover what it was that was making all that noise that disturbed her sleep. It turned out to be her phone on the floor beside her, furiously ringing her awake. "Hello?" she groggily answered.

-"Korra, it's Pema. I need you."

The dealer groaned again. "Pema, it's early. What on earth do you need me for?"

-"It's not early, it's ten in the morning, but that's beside the point. Jinora didn't come home at all last night, and I just called her school, she's not there either." This got Korra's attention, and she sat up straight in her bed. "Korra, every time she goes out, you tend to know what happens, so I'm asking you now: where is she?" Pema continued.

"This doesn't make any sense, I dropped her off at your place last - shit," she swore, realizing that Jinora must have run away, not ready to confront her family with what she'd done. "I left her at your front door, but I didn't escort her all the way in. She must have taken off after I left."

Pema's voice grew stern, yet there was a distinct undertone of panic in there. "Korra, where is my daughter?!"

Korra sighed, weighing her options. She couldn't lie right now, Pema knew too much for that, but she also couldn't give her a useful answer, as she didn't know any. "I don't know, but I'm going to find her. I can call in favors, people who know what to look for. I'll get her back."

She could hear Pema sigh. "I suppose it's of no use asking you what happened last night?"

Korra thought for a moment. "I can't tell you that. You wouldn't want to know."

-"Yeah yeah, that's what you always tell me, but right now, I am worried sick. My daughter is nowhere to be found and she has been gone since last night!"

"Pema, calm down," Korra urged. "If she's in the city, I can find her, trust me. I gotta go now, I got some phonecalls to make. I'll let you know when I got something, sound good?"

The mother sighed again. "Just find her, Korra." With that, she hung up, and Korra dressed herself as quickly as possible.  _Alright, time to think logically. Jinora's troubled, and she wants to feel better. Where does she go?_  The options ran through her mind, and one quickly stood out. She could try Jinora's phone, maybe Pema didn't have the number at the ready, because she called Korra from her work at the supermarket.

It rung a few times, before someone picked up. "Hello?" a man's voice said.

"Kai?"

-"Yes, that's me, what is it?"

"What are you doing with Jinora's phone?"

Kai hesitated for a moment. "Jinora stayed the night, but when I woke up this morning, she left her phone at my place. Don't know where she went after that."

Korra thought for a moment. "Alright, we need to meet, face to face. Where are you now?"

-"81st and Gaipan."

 _Good, that's not too far away._  "Okay, I'll find you there, don't go anywhere." With that, Korra hung up and made for the intersection Kai just mentioned. It didn't take her very long, and she quickly spotted the handsome kid leaning against a wall. There was something off about him, though. Even though Kai was never very tense, he seemed too relaxed for the situation.

-"Hey Korra," he casually greeted her.

"Hey." Korra paused for a moment. "So what happened last night between you two?"

Kai spilled the story of how he picked her up from Shiro's, stopping when they went to bed. "And when I woke up again, she was gone," he utimately concluded.

Korra eyed him up suspiciously. There was something off about the story, he was leaving something out, she just knew it. "Kai, what really happened last night? And the full truth this time."

-"I just told you," he said, looking about as convincing as a five-year old telling a lie.

"The  _full_  truth." He didn't answer, and a light went on Korra's head. "Did you... did you have sex with Jinora?" Kai gave a half confirming nod, and this sent Korra over the edge. She grabbed him by the arm, dragging him into the nearest alley, and roughly shoved him against the wall. "What the fuck did you do?! You just told me, she was piss-drunk, clearly not in the right mind, and you have sex with her?! What the fuck is your problem?!"

Kai put up a weak defense. "Hey, she wanted me to do it, not the other way around."

"She was out of her fucking mind! When a girl asks you in that state, you say  **NO** , you fucking idiot!" Korra took a deep breath. "You are very lucky that I need your help finding her, otherwise I'd be beating your ass into the hospital. Get over to the Ba Sing Se Mall, and let me know if you find her." She thought for a moment. "Actually, give me Jinora's phone. Might get something useful out of it."

Kai reluctantly pulled the device from his pocket, and handed it over. Korra gave him another death glare, and he quickly walked off. She scrolled through the contacts, looking if she could find someone in there who might know something. At first, her search came up empty, but then she saw Tuyen standing in the the list.  _Well, maybe she knows something. They are close friends, after all._

After it rung a few times, Tuyen picked up. "Jinora? Did you take care of your business?"

It took Korra by surprise. "No, this is Korra, Jinora's friend."

-"Oh. What are you doing with her phone then?"

"She didn't take it with her, and now I'm trying to find her. What did you mean with 'your business'?"

Tuyen hesitated for a moment. "I ran into her this morning. She said she had some business to take care of."

Korra started to get worried now. "Where was this?"

-"90th. No idea what she was doing that far up, our school is on 76th, and she lives on 84th. She was walking towards the higher streets for some reason, but she didn't want to tell me."

Korra felt her eyes grow wide and her mouth go dry. "Tuyen, I need you to be specific now. Where did you run into her?"

-"90th and Gaoling."

* * *

_Alright, trying to make up for the relatively short last two chapters, a nice and long one now, even though it is a slight cliffhanger - again. Also, this is the first time I have written ''straight'' smut, so if it's not brilliant, I hope that explains. Take care guys!_


	14. Crashing Down From High

_**3 hours earlier** _

When Jinora woke up again, her entire body felt sore. Not only the headache a dry throat from the hangover, but there was also a painful throbbing coming from between her legs. It was about then that she realized she was naked, and not exactly in the bed by herself. Kai was still peacefully asleep, and Jinora felt massive wave of nausea and guilt wash over her, knowing that she had forced him into doing something neither of them was ready for.

The sheer magnitude of the scale on which she fucked up became even more apparent when she gently tried to move out of the bed. Her legs felt sticky, and like there was some sort of crust on it. That's when she suddenly remembered: they hadn't used protection.  _Mother. Fucker. If you're pregnant, it's your own dumb fault._

But strangely enough, Jinora couldn't really bring herself to care right now. It just seemed like a good way to forget, but it hadn't worked.

_Forget._

_Escape._

_Fly away._

_You know where you can do this._  She sighed and got out of bed, quietly dressing herself. A glance at her phone revealed that it was 7:00 in the morning, which meant she had some time before she would be missed anywhere. Not wanting to be found, she put her phone on the nightstand, figuring Kai would find it when he woke up. She left a note on the main screen for him: 'I'm sorry for everything.'

As silently as she could, Jinora walked down to the street again, where she finally got a chance to orientate herself. _Where did Kai live again? It was somewhere on 82nd street, but what avenue?_  She walked in  _a_  direction, and ended up on Taku Avenue.  _Great. It's at least four blocks to Gaoling, and then another dozen blocks up._

Steeling herself, Jinora threw on her hood, and just started walking in the direction of Gaoling, determined to get there. Back on the familiar avenue, she turned north, noticing that traffic started to become busier as she progressed. She was about halfway when she was halted.

-"Jinora!" she heard a familiar voice call out. She looked up, a saw Tuyen walking towards her. At first, she looked fine, but a worried frown appeared on her face when she got an up close look at Jinora. "Is everything alright?" It wasn't really a surprise. She had barely slept all night, not to mention the utter despondency she hadn't been able to shake since she pulled that damn trigger.

The Airbender sighed. "Not really." It was the only answer she felt like giving, even if it was curt, and she was basically telling her friend to fuck off.

-"You do realize you're walking the wrong way, right? School is that way," Tuyen said, pointing in the direction she just came from.

"I know. I have some business to take care of."

Tuyen wasn't the least bit convinced, but Jinora didn't care. She just wanted to get moving again, and her friend noticed it. "Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll try to cover for you in school, sound good?"

Jinora half-heartedly nodded. "Yeah, thanks." Tuyen stepped aside, and the Airbender kept on walking towards her destination.

The Innkeeper was surprised to see her. "Well well well, The Airbender graces me with a visit when we don't have a delivery planned."

"I want it. My own product. One shot. How much?"

He cautiously eyed her up, trying to scan her for wavering resolve. Truth be told, that would be the case, but Jinora was simply at the end of her tether, and this was the one thing she hadn't tried to make herself feel slightly less shitty. "You're not going to fuck me over out of our deal, are you?"

Jinora gritted her teeth and gave him a death glare. "How. Much?" she hissed.

The Innkeeper nodded. "60 yuans if you want a clean needle. Your shit is very pure, but that's how you get the best high."

She reached into her pocket, handed him the money, and in turn, he handed her a small pouch with the familiar white powder. "Follow me," he said, and preceded her into what would be best described as a kitchen, where he took out a spoon and a lighter, and helped her to put the stuff into the needle. Jinora let herself sink into a corner, and took one last deep breath.

 _You can still turn around._  She sighed. Nothing she had tried had worked in lifting her spirits. She snapped at Korra. She didn't even dare to face her family. Getting drunk only made her angrier. She had abused Kai's trust and naiveté in a pathetic attempt at cheering herself up. And none of it had worked.

 _This is your last option._  Jinora steeled herself, and decisively stuck the needle in her arm. At first it hurt pretty bad, but then when she started pushing the Glide into herself, it worked almost instantly. All of a sudden, she felt very woozy, but she also felt her troubles melt away from her mind. Nothing really seemed to be that important, and it certainly lifted her spirit. Jinora felt quite a bit happier, as she slowly sunk further onto the ground, which was when the real reason her product had quickly gained a name for itself became clear.

It made her feel incredibly light, and the floor seemed to melt away beneath her. Jinora felt like she was completely weightless, suspended in the half-dark of the early morning light coming in through the window.

The euphoric feeling of flight and the lack of her troubles bothering lasted about 15 minutes, but it felt a lot longer to her. After that, Jinora became heavier again, and the feeling of the floor came back to her side, but it was impossible to keep her eyes open any longer. Not having a care or a worry left, she peacefully fell asleep.

* * *

 _Please let me be in time to stop her._  That was the only thought racing through Korra's mind at the moment. If she couldn't stop Jinora in time, there would be no telling what it would do to her. She had pulled a massive sprint across nearly 15 blocks, and even though she was in excellent physical shape, she was completely out of breath by the time she reached 95th and Gaoling.

Korra raced up the stairs two at a time, before nearly kicking the door of the crackhouse down.

-"What are you doing here?!" came the brusque voice of The Innkeeper from behind her.

She quickly spun around, hand already tightening around the grip of her gun. "Where's The Airbender?" Korra demanded.

He started laughing. "I wouldn't be much of a good dealer if I would just give everyone up, now would I?"

 _You don't have time for this bullshit._  Korra pulled out her gun, aiming it right between his eyes. "I already helped put down four people yesterday, and I won't hesitate to make you the fifth. Where is she?!"

The Innkeeper looked her square in the eye, and didn't see any signs of her either wavering, or even that her threat was an idle one. "She's in there," he said, nodding to the kitchen.

Korra rushed in there, and her heart fell when she saw her unofficial little sister lying on the floor, one sleeve up, and a used needle beside her.  _Mother. Fucker._  She felt like kicking herself in the face for letting this happen. Of course Jinora wasn't okay when she let her go. The Avatar was just following the pieces of Jinora that she had left behind.

-"Now that you've seen her, would you be so kind as to fuck off?" The Innkeeper asked, appearing in the doorway behind her. It took every ounce of self-control Korra had not to turn around and blow his brains out.

"I'm taking her with me," she resolutely stated, hoisting Jinora on her shoulder.

-"Can't let you do that, Avatar. I'm in the business of giving my clients what they want, and I did just that. I'm keeping her here until she's capable of walking out by herself," he said, cocking the hammer of his gun, which he was holding by his side.

 _Fuck this shit._  With her free hand, Korra resolutely took aim, and put a bullet square between his eyes. She didn't even flinch, and neither did Jinora, who didn't wake up, even from something as loud as a gunshot.

It took her a few moments to realize that she had just shot another person, but really, she couldn't be bothered to care. What she did care about, was covering her tracks, so she put Jinora down by the door for the time being, walked back to the kitchen to rip the gas line from the stove loose, letting the natural gas flow into the room. Korra looked around, seeing a stack of old newspapers in the corner, which she put on a chair before lighting them on fire, creating a makeshift fuse.

She quickly made her way out of the area, once again with Jinora's arm slung over her shoulder, carrying the sleeping girl back to her own apartment through the miasma of alleyways. When she was about three blocks away, she heard the loud explosion of the crackhouse finally igniting, blowing the place to smithereens.

Korra decided it would be best to take her unofficial little sister back to her place for the time being, not wanting to burden Pema with this just yet.  _Shit. Pema._  She took her phone out of her pocket, made extra difficult by the fact that she also had to carry Jinora, and dialed.

-"Korra? Have you found her?" the distressed mom from the other side immediately asked.

She sighed. "Yes, Pema, I did, but I can't take her home now."

-"WHAT?! Korra, you get my daughter home  _right now!_ "

"Pema, listen to me. I could take her home, but you would hate me for it, and I can't let you see Jinora like this. She is safe with me for the time being, and once she's back to her old self, I'll take her home."

It was silent for a while. "Korra, what happened?" Pema asked in a low voice.

The shaking voice was almost enough to break Korra's resolve and spill the truth. "She..." she began, but she couldn't bring herself to finish. "I can't tell you." It fell silent for a long time. "Trust me on this one, Pema. Please."

Another long silence. "I don't like this, Korra. Not one bit."

Korra sighed again. "Neither do I." And after that, Pema resolutely hung up the phone.

* * *

When Jinora woke up again, it felt like her entire body was aching, even worse than it had before. This wasn't just like the hangover she'd had earlier, this was very different. There was an itch all over her body, but it wasn't on her skin. It felt like her bones were burning inside, on top of everything else she was feeling. There was a particular sore spot on her arm, the headache had come back with a vengeance, and the dry mouth and sore throat were worse than ever.

She groaned and fisted her hair, gently rubbing her temples in an attempt to calm that furious headache. Suddenly, a voice came from her side. "Drink this."

Jinora opened her eyes, and saw Korra sitting there, handing her a glass of murky water. "What is it?" she asked, voice completely hoarse.

-"Disgusting, now drink up," Korra flatly replied.

She decided not to question it any further, and chugged the glass of water back in a few big gulps. The incredibly bitter taste of aspirin lingered, but it did have it's effect in numbing the pain.

"Where are we, Korra?"

-"My place. I didn't take you back home because I didn't want your mom to see you like that. You can thank me later."

"Hmm," Jinora replied, and she threw the blanket Korra had put over her off, only to find out she was left in just her underwear. Not that it really mattered to her right now, she had other things on her mind. "Where are my clothes?"

-"Washing machine. They were absolutely rancid, because you slept on the floor of a place covered in piss and vomit." Korra's voice was growing angrier, and Jinora had a pretty good idea why.

"Korra... I..." she began, but had no idea where she would go with that sentence. Would she try to justify herself? Apologize? Explain her reasoning?

Instead, Jinora just stopped talking altogether, letting another long silence fall over them.

Korra eventually rubbed her hand over her mouth, before getting out of her chair. "Get up," she commanded.

"What?"

-"On your feet.  _Now._ " Jinora complied, painfully dragging herself out of the bed, before she ultimately managed to will herself on her two feet. Korra took a few steps closer, and before the younger girl fully realized what was going on, got the wind completely knocked out of her.

Korra had given her a mighty good punch to the stomach, and Jinora completely collapsed, sinking on her knees, while a massive urge to throw up rose through her. The older girl kicked a bucket in her direction, which Jinora gratefully utilized. To Korra, she already had no dignity left, so this wouldn't matter anymore.

A very pissed off Korra stood over her when she was done what felt like puking her guts out. "What the fuck were you thinking? You of all people should know what that shit does to you!"

 _Fair enough, you deserved that._  Jinora took a deep breath, trying to steel herself. "I wasn't thinking. I wanted to stop feeling."

The older girl calmed down a bit. "So you put a shot of pure poison up your arm?"

"Seemed like a good way to get there." Jinora didn't know what else to say. In hindsight, yes, it was incredibly stupid of her, but she if she could do it again, she probably would. It was a good way to stop feeling for a few hours, even if it was nothing more than a way to postpone her misery. "Same reason I slept with Kai. He tried to stop me, but I coerced him into doing it anyway."

Korra let her eyes rake over Jinora's barely covered body. "Yes, I imagine he was  _very_  reluctant in giving in to fucking you."

Jinora sighed, and forced herself to sit up against the bed. "Don't take this out on him, Korra. This was all my doing," she said, throwing up a defense for Kai. No one else was going to take the shit for her mistakes.

-"No," Korra resolutely threw back. "This was Iroh. He should never have forced you to shoot Zaheer." She sighed. "I gave him an earful last night, and he said he made you do it to test your resolve and commitment. He never even considered the impact it would have on you. Iroh is to blame for this."

This didn't really spark any hope in Jinora. Even if she could successfully pin this on Iroh, she had screwed over everyone close to her after what had happened. Plus, she needed The General's connections in order to keep the flow of income up. "That doesn't help me. I made the decisions, so it's my fault as well." She tried to walk to the door, but the headrush made her fall back on the bed.

Korra stood up as well, and pushed her on her back again. "Listen, between the drugs, the alcohol, and the trauma, you wouldn't even make the front door. So you're going to stay here and sweat it out for the time being, because you are in no condition to go home."

"But Korra, I need to..." Jinora started to protest, but the older girl cut her off.

"The only thing you need to do is come up with a way to tell your mom what you have been up to, because you are going to be in a world of trouble when she finds all of this out."

The younger girl sighed, realizing that her friend was right on this one. She could barely stand on her own feet, let alone walk home and give off the vibe that she was actually okay. The aftereffects of the Glide were becoming more apparent now that the aspirin was starting to wear off, and the pain under her skin was returning.  _It's your own fault, so suck it up and stay down._

Jinora decided she wasn't in a position to argue, so she just rolled over again, and fell back asleep.

* * *

-"Ah Lin, good to see you here."

"My pleasure," she sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes. "What do you have for me?"

Saikhan handed her a pair of latex gloves, and gestured her to follow him inside the small apartment. "Four bodies, each with a load of bullets in them, and enough spent shellcasings here to classify it as a small war."

Lin took a look around. The four bodies were all in the living quarters of the room, none in either the kitchen or the bathroom. There were bulletholes everywhere, indicating a massive fight, compounded by the mentioned shellcasings. "Do we have an ID on any of them yet?"

Saikhan sighed. "Not anything official, but I know this guy," he said, pointing to the bald one who had taken a headshot. "He's called Zaheer, and he was busted a few years back for drugs and stuff, but there wasn't enough evidence to make it stick. That probably means this lot is the rest of the Red Lotus," he continued, gesturing to the others.

Lin squatted next to Zaheer, taking a close look at the wound. "This one was executed. Look, you can see the powder burns on his stubble. Point blank, most likely."

Her partner nodded. "Yeah, that's the first thing the pathologist said. Here's one interesting thing though: An eye-witness, she claims she saw The Airbender."

This got Lin's attention. "The Airbender? You mean the guy working for The General?"

-"It's a gang hit, and he's involved. If we can somehow manage to pin this, we can put him away for good."

Lin wasn't convinced. "That's a mad-sized 'if', Saikhan. We don't even have a name, for crying out loud. Are there any leads on this Airbender fellow?"

Saikhan shook his head. "No. He pops up left and right, selling some drugs, but no one who can tell us anything useful."

Lin took off her gloves and sighed.  _Another dead end. Fucking marvelous._

* * *

Over the next few hours, Jinora stayed in the bed, and the pain eventually subsided. Korra came back with her clothes once they were dry again, and she decided it was time to get up and go home again. She showered and dressed herself, walking back out into the living room, where she found Korra sitting on the couch.

She looked up. "Good to see you back on your feet. Now before you go, we have something to discuss." Korra motioned her to sit down as well, and Jinora complied. "We're fucked," the older girl said. She took a deep breath, preparing to deliver bad news. "The Innkeeper is dead. I had to shoot him in order to get you out of there, and I blew the place to bits."

"You what?!" It was a mixture of disbelief and anger that was now running through Jinora's body. "Korra, I needed that place, you know that!"

-"Jinora, be realistic here. Do you think that Iroh would ever let you so much as look at his product again now that he knows you used it?"

"He knows?"

Korra slowly nodded. "If it happens in the Dragon Flats, you can be almost certain he knows. Iroh is the best at gathering intel on his people, so..." She sighed. "Jinora, you're out."

The younger girl took a deep breath.  _So it has all been for nothing. Fuck._  "I take that won't be the end of things?"

-"No, probably not. He's going to come after you, and after me too, because he already suspects that I'm not entirely on his side, but on yours too. That also means he's going to come after your family, in case he needs leverage."

"He wouldn't dare..." Jinora said, but she knew it was a lie. Iroh had just put a kill order out on four people in one go, they weren't the first, and they certainly wouldn't be the last.

-"You know that's not true. Just because you're young, doesn't mean he's gonna go easy on you. Because above all else, to him, you are  _expendable_. No prior connections, no record, not on anyone's shitlist... A blank slate. Now you've royally fucked up, and I pushed you further into the shit. We're both screwed now."

It made sense. Together, they had cost Iroh a good 2000 yuans a week, and that's just for starters. The police couldn't possibly deny four murders, and if they would find the Innkeeper, the connection would definitely lead back to Iroh. "So what can we do?"

Korra took a deep breath. "Let me worry about damage control for now, see if Iroh is just as pessimistic as I am. Either way, I woulnd't get too hopeful if I were you."

"Alright, I won't do that."

-"Have you thought about what you're going to tell your mom?"

Jinora sighed. "I owe her the truth. And now that I'm out anyway, it won't matter if she knows. Plus, chances are she already suspects."

Korra looked up surprised. "You really think so?"

"She'd have to be pretty dense if she didn't, and my mom notices everything."

-"True." Korra put her hands on her knees, and used them to push herself up. "Right, time for you to go back home. Can you walk?" Jinora nodded, fairly confident that she could. It wasn't that far to her apartment from here. "Okay, then I am going to take you home, and I am not leaving until you are inside. Sound fair?"

 _Considering the stunts you pulled last night; yes, yes it does._  "Let's go."


	15. Cards on the Table

When Jinora stepped back into the apartment, her mother was sitting at the dinner table, facing the door. The young girl had trouble not breaking down into tears at the sight, but Pema remained perfectly composed whe she saw her daughter finally walking through the door again.

"Hey mom," she started in a small voice.

-"Hey sweetheart," Pema replied, giving her a small smile. "Sit down. I think it's about time we talked." Her voice was completely calm, which was actually kind of frightening. Jinora complied, sitting down at the head of the table, facing away from the door. "Jinora, you have been lying to me. Now I don't mind at all that you keep secrets, I know what that's like. I was your age once, and you don't have to share your every move with me." She paused for a long time and took a deep breath. "But when you disappear in the middle of the night, you don't show up at school, and then Korra calls and says she can't tell me what happened to you, that is where I draw the line. So I am going to ask you this once: what did you do?"

Jinora chuckled, as she couldn't help but find the sad irony funny. "Everything you told me not to." She thought for a moment, before pulling out the box of cigarettes from her pocket, fidgeting with one under the table. "Where are Ikki, Meelo, and Rohan?"

-"Meelo and Rohan are asleep, I arranged for Ikki to stay with a friend until late tonight. Why do you want to know?"

"Because this is going to take more than a five-minute conversation."

Another silence. "What are you playing with?" Pema asked after a while.

Jinora sighed. "Well shit, with everything you're about to learn, I guess this won't matter." She stuck the cigarette between her lips, and quickly lit it before her mother could even protest. Much to her surprise, there was not so much as a hint of disappointment on Pema's face. "You're not going to say anything?"

-"I'm going to let you do the talking on this one, seeing how you have plenty to talk about. Why don't you start with where you went last night?"

"I'd rather start from the beginning." Jinora took a long drag of her cigarette, ultimately exhaling the smoke again. "I'm a criminal, mom." This did make her mother sigh. The Airbender pulled out her gun, placing it on the table between them. "This is where I go at night. I sell drugs. That is what I do. And in case you're still not clear, I'm the one giving us the cash every week."

-"I take it that's not the full beginning?"

"No." And then she spilled it. The entire story, from how she started, ended up with the Glide, beat up Toza, even how she shot Kai. Pema was calm all the way through, and she only asked for things she wasn't clear on. There was no judgment from her side whatsoever. It took her nearly two full hours to get through the entire thing, going through half her pack of cigarettes in the meantime. Ultimately, Jinora landed at what happened last night, and that was where she started to hesitate and fell silent.

-"You've been quiet for a long time," Pema eventually remarked.

The young girl was about to speak up when Ikki burst into the apartment. "Hey mom, I - whoa," she interrupted herself, while Jinora slowly turned around to face her little sister. "Jin, why are you smoking? And what's with the long face?"

-"Ikki, go to your room and get to bed," Pema sternly ordered.

-"But... but..."

Pema sighed and stood up. "Ikki, do what I say." She groaned, but did comply, and gingerly walked over to their room.

Her mother sat down again, trying to take it all in. "Screw it, give me one of those," she said, gesturing to the box of cigarettes.

"But you don't smoke."

-"I used to, but I quit when I became pregnant with you. Let's have 'em."

Jinora raised an unconvinced eyebrow, but decided she wasn't really in a position to refuse, so she slid the box and her lighter over to her mother, who quickly lit one up. "Our little secret," she said, winking at her daughter. It put a faint smile on Jinora's face, whose spirits dropped again when she realized what she was about to disclose.

-"So..." Pema said after taking a long and content drag from her cigarette. "What happened last night?"

This was the point where Jinora lost her resolve. She broke down into a quiet sob at first, but once the first tear had fallen the floodgates opened. Pema slid her chair closer, pulling her daughter into a tight hug. Neither of them knew how long they sat there like that, but it was quite long. Eventually, it was Pema who spoke up again. "Sweetheart, I hate seeing you like this. Whatever it is, I promise you, I will help you over it."

Jinora took a deep breath, wiping her tears dry with her sleeve. "I..." She sighed again. "Mom, I killed someone." Pema didn't say anything. She put the side of her fist in front of her mouth, not out of shock or surprise, but more out of what appeared to almost be acceptance.

After a while, Jinora started talking again. She told her what happened, how Iroh had forced her into a corner, and that there was basically no other way out. She wasn't even making an attempt to justify it by saying that Zaheer was the worse criminal here, because truth be told, Jinora wasn't even very sure about that herself anymore.

-"So that's how it is," Pema ultimately said once her daughter had stopped again. "Is that why you didn't come home last night?"

"Something like that." Jinora let out another sigh. "Short version: got drunk, got laid, got high." After elaborating on that part as well, it fell silent again. They both lit up another cigarette, and Jinora started to wonder. "Mom, why aren't you furious? It's not like I'm some sort of petty dealer who got weed to sell at a party, I sold heaviest drugs in town! People have been killed for what I sell, by what I sell, and I killed someone for it myself!"

Pema sighed and puffed out a bit of smoke. "I was very angry at you, Jinora, and I was very worried. But then I started thinking about the timing of everything. You started disappearing right after you caught me and Toza, yet when the money flow started, you were gone only less often. I definitely had my suspicions of what you were up to, but I never thought it would be this bad. And I blame myself for not seeing it, and not acting sooner. This is my fault as much as it is yours. I forced your hand and let you play it out."

 _Always there to take care of you._  "No. This was my choice, not yours. You didn't tell me to get into the drug business, hell, you told me to stay away from it. And yet I still did it."

-"And I didn't stop you. She sighed. "I love you very much Jinora, and I hate seeing you like this, in this..." Pema paused for a moment. "Situation... that you got yourself into. That I let you get yourself into. And if I'm very honest with myself, I didn't do it because the money was so tempting, even if I knew deep down that it was probably you giving it to us. But we needed it, every penny of it, so I didn't take any action."

Jinora sighed. "Well, too bad it's coming to an end then."

-"What do you mean?"

"I'm out," she firmly stated. "Mom, I used the drugs that I sell. How would Iroh ever trust me to walk around with it again, selling it instead of putting it up my arm? There is only one thing left for me to do: stop him before he kills me."

This made her mother's eyes grow wide with fear. "He put a kill order out on you?"

"Well, if he hasn't already, he will soon. I know too much, and I would remain alive, I'd be a liability. Korra is working on how we can take him, because he is good, and our list of allies is short." Jinora took a deep breath. "If it all goes to plan, Korra might take over his operation, keep the flow of money going."

-"Jinora, you have enough blood on your hands. I don't want you to do anything that you would regret."

"It's too late for that. Besides, as long as he is alive, you are in danger as well. Once Korra and I take him out, we're in the clear. This is my mess, and I don't want anything to happen to you because of it. And maybe after that, things will go back to normal."

Her mother took another deep breath, trying to grasp the situation.  _You are basically telling her you're going to kill someone. What the fuck did you expect, a pat on the back and her well-wishes?!_  "Is it normal, Jinora? Because from where I'm sitting, 16 year old girls should be worrying about their homework and what they're going to wear on their next date, not plotting murders."

"Be that as it may, I have to protect you, and if that's at the cost of Iroh... Well, I don't think it's a huge loss for the world."

-"So now you are starting to become careless with the value of a human life? Is that it?"

Jinora sighed. "Of course not. But if I have to make the choice between him and us, I choose us. At least give me that." She could see that her mother was contemplating saying 'but if', but she didn't, it wouldn't solve anything anyway, so she might as well not.

Pema thought long and hard. "This is nothing like you, Jinora. I didn't raise a girl who would even consider killing someone, let alone think up a plot with Korra." She looked Jinora square in the eyes, as if she was trying to figure out what she was thinking. "What are you aiming for here?"  _Iroh's head, preferably._  "My blessing or something?"

"No, that's not it. I just..." She sighed. "I have to do this Mom. You are in danger as long as I don't."

-"I won't condone this, Jinora. I cannot possibly agree with you killing someone, even if it is to protect us." Pema paused for a long time. "That being said, I won't stop you either. This does not mean I'm okay with this, but I don't believe you would lie to me about something like this. So I will let you do this for now, and after that, you stop it. All of it, money or no money. I want this thing out of my house," she said, pointing to the gun, "and you are of course grounded indefinitely."

Jinora chuckled. "Goes without saying, really."  _At least some things will never change._  She smiled sincerely. "Thanks Mom. I'm gonna fix this whole mess, I promise."


	16. Woman With a Plan

"Where is he operating from?!" Lin was playing the 'bad cop' this time around, which was kind of her favorite. The scars she had been left with on her face after the assassination attempt by the Red Monsoon Triad definitely helped her scary image, and in turn, interrogating people. Right now, she was working on some street kid punk, who apparently had information on The General.

-"I don't know! I swear I don't! Everything I know is a rumor, heard it from some friend who heard it from some hooker!"  _Good. He's panicking, which means he's going to spill any second now._

Lin backed off a few paces, letting Saikhan take this one. "That's okay. You just tell us this rumor, and we'll consider letting you go."

The petty criminal was about to break down into tears, bringing a slight smile to Lin's face.

-"He has a coffee place on 87th. I heard someone had to bring in something for the place and saw what could be drugs."

Lin hit the table with the flat of her hand, startling her suspect badly. "That's not good enough! We are considering letting your offences drop for information, give us something better."

-"Alright! Alright! It's between Taku and Omashu, but I swear, that's all I know!"

She looked over towards Saikhan, who nodded. She reached over, undoing his handcuffs while the suspect gave her another panicked look. "Don't leave town," she snapped, ushering him out the door.

Once she and Saikhan were back at their respective desks, they each plopped into their chairs with a content grin on their faces. "I told you this joker would pay off," Saikhan said, his smile slowly changing from content to smug.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You go and stake out that coffee shop, see if there's anything unusual going on. I'll go over the files from the Red Lotus case again, see if there is something we missed."

Saikhan nodded and walked off to do just that. Lin sighed again, pulling the box of files to her they had accumulated over the years. The guy they had just finished interrogating was a lucky break, someone who had ties to the Red Lotus, apparently someone who sold a bit of drugs left and right for them. Those were a dime a dozen in this city, so not really worth pursuing right now, not when he presented a gateway to get The General.

It was still thin  _at very best._  A vague lead, but she was doing what Tarrlok had told her: chase down every last one. If the captain was right, this could mean a breakthrough in their case against the drug kingpin in the Dragon Flats.  _Yeah right. And perhaps tomorrow, you'll invent a magic-powered car and start shitting rainbows._

* * *

-"Iroh heard what you did  _and_  what I did. We're fucked."

_She isn't trying to sugarcoat it, that much is for certain._  Jinora loudly sighed. "Damn. Do you know if he put a kill order out on us yet?" It had been three days since she had shot Zaheer, and Korra had spent the time trying to gather intel on what Iroh knew from contacts she could still trust. Apparently, her remark of him knowing everything that goes on in the Dragon Flats turned out to be true, because he knew everything she had done that night.

The very distinct lack of gunmen showing up at either of their doors to kill them was a good sign, though. With a little bit of luck, they might just get away with this.  _And when has luck ever worked in your favor?_

Korra hesitated. "I don't. Though I think the chances of him doing that right now are slim. As long as we keep quiet, I think we might just be alright. After all, you and your family are still here, and Iroh knows that. He uses them as leverage over us, remember? We'd do anything to protect them."

It was true. The Gyatsos were all the leverage he needed for them to keep their mouths shut, but it still didn't feel quite right to Jinora.  _Makes sense though, he is a criminal after all. No such thing as honor among thieves._  "I don't know Korra. I just have a bad feeling about this."

She sighed too. "I know, and so do I. I'm quietly working on something in case things go bad, but it's really just a backup. Like I said, we just keep our heads down for now." The words hadn't left her mouth or her phone rang. "Speak of the devil," she groaned, and answered. "Wolfbat."  _Ah, so it's Tahno._  Jinora couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but it wasn't good, judging by Korra's worried look. She put the phone on speaker, and now the younger girl could also hear it.

-"Detective Saikhan," Tahno said. "It appears you know things we'd rather you didn't." A phone rung on the other side of the line, and they could hear something rustling. "Lin Beifong," Jinora heard Tahno read aloud, the ringing still continuing. "The Iron Lady is looking into us boys, we should be honored." Laughter broke out, and it had her very worried.

"What is this, Korra?"

-"I don't know, he just told me to listen up."

They turned their attention back to the phone, where a woman they didn't know spoke up. "Saikhan, where the hell are you? You haven't called in."

-"They got me, Lin. I'm fucked."

Jinora's eyes grew wide. "They're going to kill him! Tahno, don't do it!" It had no effect, so chances were, the phone was muted on the other end.

-"Detective Beifong, here's a tip for you: stay away from The General, and you might end up in better shape than your partner."

-"What do you think you're doing?" Beifong asked.

There was no answer, which worried Jinora immensely. The silence only lasted a few seconds, before it was broken by a gunshot. She put her hand over her mouth in shock, knowing that Tahno just executed a police officer. Judging by the sound of things, Tahno had taken the phone off speaker again, and was now just addressing them.

-"You sold us out."

"Tahno, that's ridiculous, we didn't sell you out!" Jinora yelled.

He laughed. "So I'm supposed to believe it's a coincidence that you end up out of the loop, and two days later, a cop shows up checking out the shop?" She didn't say anything, knowing that he wouldn't believe it either way. "Keep this up, and you're next," he threatened, before hanging up.

Jinora fell back into her chair with her hand over her mouth, knowing that everything they had just discussed was now pointless.

Korra seemed to share the thought, as it took her quite a while before she managed to tear her gaze away from her phone. "We're fucked."

"So that's it? We're just dead men walking now?"

The older girl's face hardened. "No. I'm not just gonna bend over and pull my pants down to my ankles. Like I said, I have a plan, and I'm going to put that into motion first thing tomorrow."

"Do you think we need to warn my family?"

Korra took a while weighing her options. "I think it's best if you stay with them for the time being, but keep them in the dark on this. Iroh's still a soldier, killing civilians isn't his MO. Mind you, he will do it if he thinks it's necessary."

Jinora thought for a moment. "Why don't I just tell them this, and we leave town?"

The older girl decisively shook her head. "Won't work. I'd bet you any money that Iroh is somehow keeping tabs on you. Chances are you wouldn't even make the Silk Road Bridge if the five of you try to skip town. Kai, Asami, and Opal, they might be able to, but not you."

"We could use Kai. We need all the allies we can get."

-"He's just a boy Jinora, and you want to pit him against a former Yuyan commando? We might as well ask him what song he wants on his funeral, because Iroh would destroy him." She briefly paused, seeing if her message would sinking with Jinora, which it did. "Don't worry, I have a plan. Meet me tomorrow at ten in The Triangle Club. Get Kai over there as well, it's the only place I have more ears in the walls than Iroh does, so we should be able to talk things over in private."

* * *

The following day, Jinora did as she was instructed, waiting by the back entrance of The Triangle Club, and was now quietly smoking a cigarette while she waited for Kai to show up. There hadn't been much communication between them since  _that_  night, but he accepted her invitation nonetheless. Seeing his dammingly handsome smirk again put a slight smile on her face when Kai finally came walking up to her.

-"Babe, I'm gonna be very honest with you, I would  _not_  have thought your idea of a romantic date would be going to a strip club." Kai wasn't even trying to appear anything other than utterly sarcastic.

"Well, you know me," Jinora chuckled. "I somehow always manage to surprise you." She awkwardly shuffled with her feet. "Kai, I'm sorry for what I did to you. What I made you do. You were completely right when you said that I shouldn't have tried to do it with you."

He gently cupped her cheek, looking straight into her eyes. "Water under the bridge. I agreed to it as well, so don't think for a second that you forced it on me somehow." He was silent for a moment. "Do you regret it?"

Jinora looked away and sighed. "I... Yes. I mean, it's not you, it's just the timing. I just wanted to do something stupid, and I used you for that. I suppose that, you know, eventually, I would have wanted to do it with you..." Kai cut her off by pressing a gentle kiss on her lips.

-"You are a big dork, you know that?" he asked, his trademark grin appearing on his face again. "I still want to be with you, no matter what you say. We were both at fault, shall we agree to that?"

There was a very sincere look in his bright green eyes, the color of couldn't even be distorted by the ugly lighting of the emergency exit. "Sounds great." She took the last drag of her cigarette before killing the butt on the ground. "I take it that by now, you heard what I did?" The Airbender hesitantly asked.

-"I've been wondering how much of it is true," Kai calmly replied. "Rumor has it you killed the entire Red Lotus single handedly. Knowing you, that's not what happened."

She sighed. "Well, as it is with all rumors, there is a core of truth in them. I didn't kill all of them, that's exaggerated." She paused for a moment. "That being said, I did kill one of them. In the head, up close and personal."

Kai rubbed his chin in thought. "Is that why you went ahead and got drunk and all?"

"Yeah. I wanted to make myself feel better, and I used you for that. It was stupid, and I am so,  _so_  sorry for it Kai."

-"Like I said, water under the bridge. I don't necessarily like it, but I'm not a saint either, and I do understand that dating a drug dealer brings certain risks. Besides, you don't look like you have the bloodlust or something."

"You're right. I don't want to feel like that ever again."

-"Good. Now on to something else that's been bugging me: why the hell are we standing outside a strip club?"

Jinora smiled, and smacked her flat hand against the door a few times. "We'll explain it in a minute. Let's just get everyone together." At the perfect time, namely as soon as she was done talking, Korra opened the door.

-"Took you long enough. Come on, I already found the brothers and Opal, the only one still missing is Asami." She walked through the little back room Mako and Bolin always used, and picked up a rather large and heavy looking duffel bag on her way into the club proper. Jinora was curious as to what her unofficial older sister was carrying, but there was no way she could ask like this, because the music was damn near loud enough to make her ears bleed and Korra was making double time through the crowd.

Ultimately, she was stopped by Bolin, who shouted something into her ear, and she gestured to Kai and Jinora to follow them to the private-room area of the club.  _This should be good._  Kai seemed a little zoned out, which made her feel a little jealous, but it wasn't as if she hadn't prepared for that. The Airbender simply took his hand, and dragged him along with her.

When they got there, Mako was arguing with the actual bouncer, who didn't really seem convinced until the rest of them showed up, all looking like they meant business. Korra ushered Jinora and Kai inside, where Asami was too focused on giving her current patron a lap dance in order to notice.

It was once again proving to be a good night for Kai, because from her naked back, she had already removed her bra, giving the overweight forty year old what he paid for.

-"What are you doing in here?!" he yelled out as soon as he noticed the three of them.

-"Playtime is over, get out." Korra's voice wasn't leaving anything to the imagination: she meant business.

He, on the other hand, didn't seem pleased at all with this. "Fuck you, go get your own girl."

Korra rolled her eyes, and pulled out her gun, aiming it square between his eyes again. "I'm not gonna ask again, now get the fuck out of here." Asami meanwhile, was standing with her back literally pressed against the wall, Jinora handed her back her bra, because Kai was clearly very uncomfortable with the topless girl standing in the corner.

The man stood up, walking out of the room, and as soon as Asami had clasped her bra closed again, she slapped Korra in the face.

-"Okay, I probably deserved that," The Avatar deadpanned.

-"What are you doing here, and what's important enough to get me into a shouting session with Varrick?"

Jinora decided to take responsibility, and stepped up. "That's all because of me. I fucked up, and now we have a few things to explain, so we need to talk."

-"Shall we go somewhere a little more... quiet?" Korra proposed, and held the curtain to usher Asami out of the room. Jinora and Kai followed them to a more quiet part of the club,  _though not by much,_  where all seven of them gathered into one relatively small room.

It was a weird sight, that much was for certain. Two strippers, both of them in what basically amounts to underwear, two bouncers-slash-muscle for hire, a petty criminal, and two drug dealers.  _Expecting a bad punchline in 3... 2... 1..._

-"Guys, I'm afraid we have some bad news," Korra began. "Jinora and I fucked up big time, and now all of you are in danger. The General has put us on a kill list, which means that he might try to use you as leverage because we care about you." She briefly fell silent, and Jinora took over.

"Kai, Opal, and Asami, we need you to leave town for a few days. We either succeed, in which case the coast will be clear, or we fail, in which case we die. Either way, when the shooting stops, you'll be safe again."

The disbelief was dripping of all three of their faces. "We can't just leave!" Asami protested. "We have a job here, Varrick would kill us if we took off out of nowhere!"

-"Look, I can talk to Varrick," Korra offered. "He might be crazy, but he's not reckless with other people's lives."

Kai didn't think it was a good idea either. "I can help, I know how to fight."

-"You got your ass put in the hospital by a sixteen year old girl, how the hell are you expecting to take on a former Yuyan commando?" He turned his head away, realizing that Korra was sort of right there. "Anyway, do you have anywhere you can go?"

They all looked at each other, but none of them seemed convinced. "I got a few relatives in the Fire Nation, but it's been years since I've seen them," Asami said.

-"I think I can do better than that," Opal offered. "I have some distant cousins in Zaofu, but I never had the money to go see them."

-"Good, then you go straight there, I want you on the first train out of this city," Korra ordered. "Now for the other half of the plan, I kind of need you to step out of the room," she told the three of them.

The Fabulous Dealing Brothers threw each other a meaningful look, knowing that they would be involved in Korra's plan somehow, and waited silently while the others left the room.

"You better have a good plan, Korra," Jinora said, not the least bit convinced that she did.

Her unofficial big sister smiled. "Of course I do, don't you trust me anymore?"

-"Ahem," Mako interrupted them. "Korra, not to be a dick here, but you sent Kai away because you don't want to feed him to Iroh, which is fair enough. But what in the world makes you think that the four of us losers can take on a soldier, a commando from the best unit in the world, nonetheless?"

-"Because we're not going in for hand-to-hand," Korra said, unzipping the duffel bag she brought with her. "We split up, and I'm giving you this," she said, taking something out of the bag. Jinora's eyes grew wide when she saw what it was. "Mako, for you, I got an M4A1 Carbine, nice and compact." She racked the chamber, checking to see if it was empty, before handing it over. "And for you Bolin, I got a Remington 570 shotgun, with deer slugs. You can easily kill a man at range with this thing." She repeated the safety check with that gun as well, before handing it to the younger brother.

Mako was speechless for a bit. "This is military-grade hardware, how the hell did you get this?"

She bashfully nodded. "I kind of had to make a deal with the Agni Kai Triad. These guns, and the promise that once we killed Iroh, they could have part of the territory. We'd have to give up everything from 105th up, but that's a small sacrifice to make." Korra took another deep breath. "Mako, I want you and Bolin to actually kill him. There's a big deal going down tomorrow at noon in Hou-Ting Park, and Iroh is typically there himself. You kill him, everyone who is with him, and the guys he's making the deal with, and you can walk away with the drugs and the money. That'll be your payment."

-"And what about you?" Bolin asked, looking up from playing with the shotgun.

-"Jinora and I will take the den," Korra continued. "There's most likely someone there as well, someone he trusts. Educated guess says Tahno, so we're going to have our work cut out for us. Then we'll take his money and his paperwork so that we can take over the entire business once Iroh is dead."

Jinora was surprised. The way Korra laid it out here, this might just actually work. "Korra, I don't want to be rude here, but if this all works, I'm out afterwards. I never want to be seen with these sort of things again," she remarked, gesturing to the guns.

-"I know, and I'm not asking you to. I'm gonna give you a share of the money, and you can retire in peace."

The Airbender chuckled, because it was a  _little_  early to be thinking about retirement. "Okay, then this sounds good."

-"Hold on a sec," Mako objected. "How do you think we can get close enough while carrying these things? And what about a backup plan?"

-"You don't. I know that deal, it's always on the north side of the park. You can get to the roof of the buildings there, take him out from a sniping position. The range on that ammo is at least 300 meters, so it won't be the hardware if you can't make the kill shot. But I have faith in you, and I think you can definitely make the shot. As to the backup plan, that depends on me and Jinora succeeding. If we have his money and his administration, he's got no room to maneuver. And no matter what, I expect you to at least take down a couple of his goons, which means he won't be able to make a fist like he used to."

The brothers gave each other another look and nodded simultaneously. "Alright, we're in," Bolin said, a grin growing.

Jinora felt a wave of reassurance wash over her that the brothers were in.  _We might just actually have a shot here._


	17. Battle of the Dragon Flats

**TW: sexual assault ahead.**

* * *

Jinora checked the ammo of her gun for what felt like the thousandth time that day. Korra had gotten her extra magazines, to make sure that she was prepared for anything Iroh could throw at them.

That being said, she had never been this nervous about anything, and for good reason. If she would fuck up, she'd be dead. It's that simple. There were a million things that could go wrong, and only one of them needed to go wrong for the whole plan to blow up in their faces.

-"You ready kid?" Korra asked, pulling her from her train of thoughts.

Jinora took a deep breath. "Let's do this." They had agreed to meet up in an alleyway a few blocks from Iroh's den, making sure they were both within walking distance, but not too close so that he would make them out.

Korra took her phone out of her pocket, dialing for Bolin, and putting an earpiece in so that they could stay in contact. Jinora did the same, and Korra conferenced her in. "Talk to me Bo, are they there yet?"

-"The coke dealers are here, but Iroh isn't here yet. He's late."

This didn't bode well. Iroh was punctual, being late was nothing like him. "Keep us updated, we're moving in." Korra gestured for Jinora to follow her, and they moved under the cover of the alleyways to the den. It was business as usual in the coffee shop underneath, and the back entrance that the dealers always used was unguarded.

They stacked up at the door of Iroh's office, guns drawn. Jinora gave Korra one last nod, and she threw the door open, upon which they both aimed around the doorpost, only to find the office empty. The girls quickly moved on to the rear quarter, but it was empty as well.

"I don't like this Korra. I don't like this one bit."

-"I know. Bolin, how are things at the deal?"

It was silent on the phone for a bit. "Three guys just showed up, but Iroh's isn't here. Do we go on with the operation?"

Jinora shot Korra another worried look. "This is all smelling like a trap to me. We gotta bail on this while we still can."

Korra looked equally worried, but shook her head. "No, we're in too deep now. If we pull back, we got nothing. We go on, that way, we have some leverage over him at the very least if we actually fall into his trap."  _Why do I have the feeling we're already in it?_  "Bolin, take the shot, radio silence until you're done. Come on, get the paperwork. Top drawer is the most recent stuff."

It was good thing for them that Iroh was old-fashioned, not believing in storing things digitally, where the federal police could hack them and trace him. He did things the tried a true way: with pen and paper. Even though the cabinet was locked, Korra had thought ahead: she brought a crowbar for prying it open, which was a simple job because of proper tools.

-"Alright, you can sort this out, right?" Korra asked, gesturing to the paper files. They would only take the bare necessities, just so that she would have a bit of a head start when taking over his interests.

"Yes I can, you get the money." Jinora started scrambling through the files, having to make split-second decisions on what would be important and what was superfluous. She plonked a couple of quickly selected ones into her backpack, and then made her way over to Korra, who was just finishing loading a bunch of Iroh's money into hers.

-"Come on, I got it all, let's roll before trouble finds us."

Bolin called again on their way down, saying they had taken care of the deal. However, no Iroh, and no Tahno. Jinora became more and more worried. "This is all too easy. Something is wrong here."

Her point was proven moments later.

As soon as they came walking out of the den's back door, a slow clapping came from behind them. Iroh was standing in the middle of the alley, and was pointing his gun right at them. Both girls were quick to draw, ending in a standoff.

-"Drop it Iroh, no way you can shoot both of us," Korra said.

He just smiled. "You're right, I can't. What I can do though, is inform you of the one thing you forgot: a contingency plan."

Jinora was starting to become confused. "What the hell are you talking about? We got you outnumbered, we got your money, and your paperwork."

The smile just wouldn't leave his face. "Alright, I'm gonna be a good sport and drop my gun. Korra, I hope you can at least give me the courtesy not to shoot me. After all, I did look after you for five whole years. On top of that, you need me alive to hear my backup plan."

He was awfully confident his plan would be good, which didn't bode well. "Okay, we won't shoot you," Korra said, ice cold. "But I do want your gun."

-"Fair enough." Iroh did as he promised, placing his gun on the deck and kicked it over towards them. "I gotta say girls, you impressed me. Making a deal with the Agni Kais, that took some real negotiating, and using two outsiders to take down the guys at the deal... Bravo."

This only stood to confuse Jinora more. "You knew, and yet you sent your own guys to their deaths?" she asked.

-"Of course not. Tipped off the Terra Triad, they are going to be livid when they hear about this."

Korra was fed up with this. "Enough! What is that plan of yours?!"

-"It was all part of the plan, Korra. You see, I've been wanting to test your loyalty for a while now. I know you didn't tip off the cops, you wouldn't risk exposure like that. It wasn't very hard to convince Tahno that you, Jinora, did actually sell us out, hence the phone call. And now you've proven that you're not loyal to me, as I already suspected. You're soft."

-"Fuck you! What - is - your - plan?!" Korra yelled, being inches from pulling the trigger and blowing Iroh's brains all over the sidewalk.

He chuckled. "Ah yes, the backup. I sent Tahno, if I recall correctly, to... 2550 84th street, apartment 33."

A massive wave of fear washed over Jinora. That was her address. She looked over to her unofficial older sister, who had an equally worried look in her eyes. "Go!" she shouted.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Iroh make a move, and The Airbender instinctively pulled the trigger. The bullet couldn't have missed him harder, but it still did its job of making him duck for cover before he could shoot at them. This left him unable to get a proper aim for them with a secondary gun while they were still out in the open, so both of them ducked behind cover on either side of the alley.

-"GO!" Korra yelled again, this time letting a barrage of bullets fly herself, all of them in the general direction of Iroh. Jinora knew that she was on the right side of the alley, and if she could just make it to the street...

She walked backwards towards the street, shooting at regular intervals to keep The General in his cover. Once she actually got back to Omashu, Jinora took the precaution of reloading while going on a massive sprint across town to get back to her apartment.

It wasn't good. Once she got there, the front door had been kicked down, and so had the door of her home. With the adrenaline still racing through her veins, she drew her pistol again, nudging the door open so that she stepped inside.

The scene before her was horrifying. Pema and her brothers were at the dinner table, mouths gagged and hands tied behind their chairs. Tahno was sitting on the couch, his big creepy trademark grin on his face, and Ikki on his lap, also bound and gagged, while he was holding a gun to her temple. "Well well well, how nice of The Airbender to join us."

Jinora pointed her gun at his head, but she was incredibly reluctant to do so, knowing that she wasn't a brilliant shot, and if she missed, she could hit Ikki. "Tahno, let them go. They've done nothing to you. Your business is with me, not with them."

He gave her a 'fair enough'-nod, but then laughed again. "Yes it is, but that's not what we're trying to accomplish here. Now put that thing down on the ground before someone gets hurt."

The Airbender looked into her younger sister's eyes, which were of course absolutely terrified. She knew damn well that if she didn't, she wouldn't even stand a chance against Tahno. He was bigger, a better shot, a better fighter, and by the looks of things, had more ammo. The only chance she had was to try and give him what he wants. "Fine." She gently laid her gun down on the ground.

-"Kick it over there," he said, gesturing to the empty corner.

Jinora once again complied, and decided to start her negotiation. "You want the files, yes? Here," she said, sliding the backpack along the ground towards his feet. "Everything we took from the office."

He raised an eyebrow. "Not everything. You took an awful lot of money if the CCTV wasn't betraying my eyes, not to mention the coke  _and_  the money your boys took from the deal in the park."

She couldn't help but tear her gaze away from Tahno for a moment, and look over to her mother. She had a nasty bruise on her eye, no doubt put there by him. If anything, she looked even more frightened than Ikki did right now. "I can get you the money back. All of it, and the drugs. Just... just let them go."

A cackling laugh tore through the room. "You still don't get it, do you? It's not just the money, this is the perfect moment for us to re-establish the knowledge that if you fuck with us, you get fucked with."

"Please," Jinora softly said, tears rolling down her face. "I'll do anything you want me to. This was me, not them."

-"Of course it was. And I'm going to kill you, obviously, you're just last on the list."

"They're just children, you fucking psychopath!"

Tahno just got an amused look on his face. "I suppose I am, but I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out." He let his free hand slide down over Ikki's stomach, to Jinora's disgust. The younger sister groaned into her gag, kicked with her legs, all in a desperate attempt to free herself.

None of it worked. Tahno was too strong, and her restraints were too well done. "Hmm, this one is feisty," he said, his smile growing. "Might as well have some fun with her..." He slid his hand under her shirt, and Jinora could see how he was feeling up her sister. "Ooh, she's already blooming..."

"You sick bastard," she said, her voice filled with disgust.

-"Again, I couldn't agree more with you," he said. "Let's see what else she has waiting for me," Tahno smirked, and he moved his hand from under her shirt to the hem of her pants.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Jinora shouted, but he was ahead of her again. He pressed his gun back up against Ikki's temple, and she actually started crying now. "Yatatata," he stopped her. "Let's not blow... this out of proportion. I'm just having a feel..." This time around, Tahno actually dipped his hand into her pants now, and Ikki choked back a sob, while the smirk on his face grew. "Ooh, she's still tight... Been a good girl, haven't you?" he whispered into her ear, but loud enough for Jinora to hear it.

She couldn't stand this any longer. Now that he was slightly distracted, Jinora lunged for his gun, ramming it away from Ikki's head as soon as it was in reach.

This worked, but only because she had taken Tahno by surprise. She grabbed hold of his gun, pointing it away from them and her sister, whom he had thrown to the side. With her free hand, Jinora managed to throw a punch right in his face, and it made his gun go off.

Because of the adrenaline surging through her body, Jinora could actually hold his gun away from them a little longer, and in their struggle it went off again. There was a shriek from her mother, but The Airbender had to disregard it, as she needed all her attention for fighting a man twice her size.

It wasn't meant to last. Ultimately, Tahno's raw strength won out, and he managed to throw her away from him, right next to her sister, and pointed his gun right at her head. Jinora was looking straight down the barrel, and it looked like Tahno was giving her a moment. She reached over to the bound hands of Ikki, taking them in her own. "Close your eyes," she whispered. "It'll be over soon."

There was a sudden sound on the window, and Jinora's eyes flashed over, seeing the familiar blue of Korra's hoodie on the fire escape. Instinctively, The Airbender rolled on top of her sister, protecting her at all costs. Tahno tried to swing his gun around to the window, but Korra was quicker.

In a very rapid succession, she pulled the trigger no less than four times, straight through the window, all of them landing in Tahno's chest. He stumbled back before collapsing on the floor, and Jinora felt a wave of relief wash over her.

She pulled back from the tight embrace she had around Ikki and brushed a few stray locks of hair out of her face. She looked straight in her eyes, and she quickly pulled the gag down. "Are you hurt?"

She nodded, but a single sob escaped her, before the floodgates really opened. Instinctively, Jinora wanted to protect her, to hold her and tell her everything would be okay, but she couldn't do that just yet. She quickly stood up, grabbing the gun from Tahno's dead hand, making sure that he wouldn't be able to reach for it if her wasn't as dead as she thought.

Korra had broken down the window, and that's when Jinora senses kicked back in again. Pema was crying at the table, trying to reach over, but couldn't do that due to her restraints, but even through the gag, there was no mistaking it: she was crying.

At first, Jinora had trouble piecing it all together, but when it hit her, it couldn't have hit her harder. It felt like a freight train had rammed her at full speed.

One of Tahno's stray bullets had hit Meelo.

* * *

_Last couple of chapters here guys, working All Are Equal to a close. Either way, yeah, who knows what's gonna happen next? (AA7 laughs diabolically.)_

 


	18. A Sister's Sacrifice

-"Oh no..." Jinora breathed, and she rushed over to her little brother. Korra busied herself cutting Pema, Ikki, and Rohan loose, while The Airbender tried to feel for Meelo's pulse.

It wasn't there. With a huge panic in her eyes, Jinora looked over to Korra, who helped her in taking a closer look. The bullet had gone into his back, as he wasn't facing the fight, but there wasn't an exit wound in the chest, so it was still in there. They pulled Meelo away from the table, gently lying him on his back so that Korra could attempt CPR, as he wasn't breathing either.

But as soon as she started her chest compressions, a huge pool of blood formed underneath him. The bullet had been a dead hit, straight into his heart. The organ had been completely destroyed, and there was nothing they could do.

It didn't take any words. When both Korra and Jinora stood up again with a disheartened look in their eyes, they both knew it was over. Nothing they could do now could bring Meelo back.

She barely registered what happened next. Somewhere in the distance, Jinora recalled that she started crying, and that she heard an ear-piercing scream as her mother cried out in anguish. Korra pulled her into a tight hug, partly to comfort her, and partly to keep her away from Meelo, which wouldn't do anyone any good right now.

It took a long time. For her own sense of time, it could have been minutes, it could have been hours. The grief was overwhelming. Meelo had never done anything to anyone, least of all to Iroh or Tahno, who was still lying on the floor, not three feet from Meelo, but none of the five people in the room paid any attention to him.

Ultimately, it was Korra who first spoke again. "Jinora..." She looked up at this, seeing that The Avatar's eyes were red as well, she had been crying just as much. "We can't stay here. Iroh is still hunting us, we have to go somewhere safe."

Jinora would have liked to say that it took one deep breath to steel herself, but it didn't. She had to choke back a couple of more sobs before she was able to do that, and finally was able to break free from Korra's hug. "You're right." She thought for a moment, but in reality, she knew there was only one place she had left to go to. It didn't matter anymore. She had sworn to protect her family at all costs, and now here she was, utterly failing at that single goal. "There's only one place we can go." Jinora sighed. "We have to go to the precinct."

Korra's eyes grew wide at this. "Jinora, no. You can't get yourself arrested, Iroh has connections!"

"Lin Beifong, Tahno shot her partner. I'd imagine she has a bone to pick with Iroh, so if I give myself up, she can protect my family," she said, looking over to her mother, who was still crying on Meelo's chest. She looked back to Korra. "If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears."

The older girl opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to come up with arguments to try and change her mind, but nothing came out of her, as she knew Jinora was right on this one. Escaping the Dragon Flats with a family of four plus Korra would be damn near impossible, as Iroh would have taken all necessary precautions to hermetically seal the borough for the Gyatsos. The precinct was only a couple of blocks over, that was more manageable.

-"You'd be locked away for the rest of your life."

Jinora took a deep breath to steel herself. "Then that's the price I have to pay for their safety." Korra didn't say anything, probably because she couldn't come up with a better plan on the fly either. "The only things in the world that I have left are the people in this room," the younger girl continued. "I can't lose anyone else."

Reluctantly, her unofficial sister nodded. "Alright. I'll help you get to the police station safely, and then I'll have to make for Zaofu as well. See if Opal and Asami are still there, maybe they can spare a bunk." She walked over to Pema, putting a hand on her shoulder, upon which she recoiled.

-"Pema..." Korra's calm voice rung through the air. "We have to get out of here. Jinora has a plan, that way you'll be safe."

-"A lot of fucking good it did so far!" she yelled, and Korra looked a little shocked, just as it had taken Jinora by surprise. Her mother never swore.

"Mom..." She started, taking a step forward, but was immediately met with a slap in the face.

It hurt, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as seeing the devastation in her mother's eyes. "I didn't raise a criminal. My daughter was a good girl, and wouldn't hurt a fly."

Jinora looked her straight in the eyes, but she didn't even protest. She knew it was true.

-"Pema," Korra started again, this time a little firmer. "We have to get out of here. It's not safe like this."

The mother sighed. "The police are a joke, you've always said that."

-"There's one who is different, and right now, she's our best shot at staying alive."

A phone started ringing in the room somewhere. It took them a while to realize it, but it was Tahno's. Korra quickly walked over taking the device from his pocket. "It's Iroh. If we don't get out of here now, he'll realize that we're still alive, and he'll send an army. We can't hold them off." She looked the mother straight in the eyes. "It's now or never, Pema."

Pema sighed. "Okay. Rohan, Ikki, get your coats." Jinora walked off too, but her mother grabbed her by the arm first. "If this goes wrong, it's on you."

The Airbender sighed. "It already is." Her mother let her go, and Jinora picked up her own pistol, while Korra took Tahno's, because she was out of ammo. They each took their respective bags with the things they had taken from Iroh's den, and went on their way.

The walk over to the police station was tense. Korra led the charge, and Jinora covered the rear, making sure that there was at least a gun on either end of the group. It wasn't brilliant, but Iroh's men didn't catch up with them before they reached their destination.

"You can't go in there, Korra. They're going to make me tell them everything I know, and that includes you."

She sighed, knowing that Jinora was right on this one. "Okay." She quickly took off her own bag, and too two bundles of money, before holding it out to Pema. "Take this. There's 250,000 yuans in there."

Her mother had a disgusted look in her face. "You think you can just  _buy_  your way out of your guilt with this?!"

-"No! I'm thinking that if you take this, you can put something bad to good use. No more lives will be destroyed because of this money. No time to argue with me on this, just take it. Give it to charity for all I care, just get it out of my world."

-"Fine," Pema sharply threw back, snatching the backpack out of Korra's hand.

Korra and Jinora took a little bit of distance. "I'm going to have to give you up, so you get the hell out of here, okay?" the younger girl asked, though it was more an order than a question.

-"I will." Without asking, Korra pulled her into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground a few inches. "You stay safe, okay? Don't do anything stupid on the inside, and maybe we'll see each other again."

Another shocking realization hit Jinora as Korra said that: they'd probably  _never_  see each other again. Even if she managed to get to Zaofu, chances were the younger girl would spend so much time in prison that she'd never breathe free air again, let alone be able to travel to the Earth Kingdom. "Okay," she said, another sniffle escaping her. When they seperated again, Korra's eyes were red as well. "Good luck, Korra."

After that, she could only watch as her unofficial older sister jogged off, disappearing into traffic and other pedestrians.

Jinora took another deep breath, and walked inside the station, her family right behind her. "Wait here," she said, gesturing to the waiting area. "This isn't going to be pretty." They all took seats with their backs facing the desk, which definitely didn't help Jinora's confidence.  _Well, it's not like you were expecting them to give you a warm hug goodbye or anything._

"I'm here to turn myself in," she said to the man at the desk, who looked incredibly bored, and from the looks of things, was playing a game of solitaire on his computer. "I want to talk to Detective Lin Beifong."

-"Uh-huh, and what's the charge?" he asked, not taking his eyes off his game.

"Murder, drugs, assault, and I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting a few."

At this, he actually cocked an eyebrow, throwing a lazy glance her way. "You're not going to impress me with your pranks, get out of here."

"For fucks' sake." Jinora rolled her eyes, pulled her gun out of her pocket, and put it on the counter. The guy's eyes grew wide in shock, and he reached for his service gun, but The Airbender quickly took a step back, putting her hands up. "Relax, I'm unarmed now."

Now that she actually had his attention, he stepped out from behind his desk, cuffing her hands behind her back, and reading her the Miranda Rights. "You have the right to remain silent, everything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney; if you can't afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights or do you want me to repeat them for you?"

_Never thought I'd find myself on this end of the rights._  "I understand. Now I want to talk to Detective Beifong, I'm not saying a word until then."

He led her to an interrogation room, where he handed her over to a female officer, who searched her, taking her phone away. Before long, she was handcuffed to a ring on the table, waiting for Beifong to show up, who she still hadn't seen up to this point.

A woman in her early fifties walked in, taking a close look at Jinora. "You asked for me."

"Are you Lin Beifong?"

-"That would be me. And you're the Airbender, meaning you're someone I've been looking for." Beifong took a seat across from her, a slight look of bewilderment on her face. "What's your name?"

"Jinora Gyatso."

She slowly nodded. "Alright. Jinora, you showing up here leaves me with a lot of questions, and not just the interrogative kind. I have been a cop for nearly thirty years, but never has a girl showed up to my doorstep, claimed she was a murderer while there wasn't an arrest warrant out for her, and proceeded to let herself be put in handcuffs."

"The stakes aren't as high for most people as they are for me."

-"Let me move on to the obvious one: why are you here, and why now?"

Jinora sighed. "I'm here to make a deal with you: I give you The General and me, and in return, you protect my family from him at all costs. I want them far away, as far as you can get them."

Beifong didn't look the least bit convinced. "The police has been chasing him for over three years now. What makes you think a teenager can bring him in?"

"Because I am The Airbender. I did everything he asked me to, and then he decided I was a liability, so he ordered a hit on me and my family. My little brother got killed, by the same man who killed your partner."

This hit a nerve. Beifong's face hardened, and she sat up a little straighter. "If you're wrong about this, I can't do anything, so you have to tell me everything you know about him. That way, you have a shot at getting out of it what you want, and I might even be able to cut your jail time by a bit."

"And I take it you want my recorded confession?"

-"That's the price you have to pay."

Jinora slowly nodded. "Alright, I guess that's it then."

Beifong flicked on the recorder on the table, stated the date and a few more essentials, before she leaned back into her seat and held her hand up to Jinora. "In your own time."

She took a deep breath, and started talking. "My name is Jinora Katara Gyatso, and this is my confession."


	19. A Year and a Half Later

**A year and a half later**

-"Come on Gyatso, time for your transfer," the guard said.

"Yeah," she blankly responded. Truth be told, Jinora knew this had been coming. She turned 18 yesterday, and therefore, would be moved out of the juvenile prison. As by miracle, she wasn't sentenced to maximum security, as her lawyer defended the hell out of her, and managed to get her acquitted of the murder of Zaheer. She got eight years with the possibility of parole for all her other crimes, which was still pretty good, as she found out. Half of her fellow inmates were doing more time for crimes less severe.

That did present her with an issue, though: she was the one who sold Iroh out to the police, and a lot of rats went down with the ship. Most of them were men, so that was fine, but the female ones, she'd face them sooner or later. Some ended up in a maximum security prison, but she also heard rumors that a few of Iroh's crew ended up right in the place where she was going: Taku Federal Correctional Facility for Women, minimum security wing. _This should be fun._

Going through processing was humiliating, but that wasn't something she hadn't been expecting. Getting all of her things in the right place was just a matter of time, but Jinora was wary. She knew there would be people gunning for her, she just didn't know how quickly they would come for her.

Jinora was on a stroll in the yard, first day there. It was just after lunch, and she wanted to clear her head. The past year had actually been a productive one for her, because it turned out, you're allowed to study in prison. She used the time she had well, and managed to burn through her high school and her SAT's, pass them both with flying colors. She thought about trying for a college degree, though her original plan of trying for med school would fall through no matter what. Maybe a legal degree? She could actually try to help out people like herself, promising young people being forced into crime by poverty. Those were a dime a dozen in this city, and she'd doubt that would be turned over completely by the time she got out again.

Before she could contemplate the issue any longer she was pulled aside by one of her fellow prisoners, pushing her against the wall with her hand clamped firmly over Jinora's mouth. "You're the reason I'm in here, bitch," she spat, inches away from her face. "You sold us all out, not just Iroh. You fucked us all over!"

Finally, the shock subsided, and Jinora managed to get a good look at her attacker. She was just a girl, maybe a few years older than her, and she was wearing a bandana over her left eye. Her hair was a choppy mess, and she was holding a make-shift knife to Jinora's throat.

She used the hand holding the knife to pull up the bandana, revealing a scarred, blind left eye. "This is what happened to me when the police came. I figure... _an eye for an eye..._ "

Jinora tried to fight back, but her attacker was too strong, so it was no use. Her breathing became increasingly shallow as the girl slowly inched the knife up, nearly pressing it against her left eye. "I'm gonna enjoy this..."

Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind, forcing the knife against its owner's throat, while she was still holding it. "Touch her again and it'll be the last thing you ever do," a low voice warned her. The knife was ripped away from her throat, Jinora was released, and the girl who attacked her was shoved to the side, revealing her savior, which left Jinora feeling utterly confused.

-"Get out of here, Adi," she spat, still holding on to Adi's knife. The attacker ran off, but Jinora was still unable to grasp it all.

" _Korra_?!"

Her unofficial older sister held out her hand and pulled Jinora to her feet. "Looks like I'm still covering your ass," she smirked, and they fell into a deep hug, before they sauntered off, strolling down to the edge of the yard.

"What happened to you? How did you end up in here?"

Korra thought for a while. "Well, I was picked up at the border while I was making my run for Zaofu. Turns out, I was carrying about 15.000 yuans, and you're only allowed to carry 10." She chuckled. "It's almost ironic: I spend half a decade doing Iroh's dirty work, running drugs, beating up people who won't work with us, killing people in his way, and the thing that lands me in jail is a technicality."

"But... My testimony..." Jinora started, but Korra quickly silenced her.

-"Wasn't your fault. I knew I was screwed the moment they asked me to come with them. Outside of your testimony, they couldn't find any proof. I took the ferry to Senlin, and got rid of all guns on the way, so they couldn't use those to prove I was there. Iroh torched the coffee place before Beifong picked him up, but the manifests we took, combined with your testimony, was enough to convict him. Your testimony only put me in an awkward position when it came to raid on the Red Lotus, but because your gun was the only one they could recover, since Iroh also changed his, they couldn't put the gun in my hand. Iroh is taking the blame for all four of those."

"Holy shit..." Jinora mumbled. "Looks like we got away with murder, and not in the figure of speech."

Korra chuckled. "Yep. We got off easy."

The younger girl thought for a while. "Say Korra, there's one thing I've been wondering. How did you end up on the fire escape the day that..." She hesitated to finish that sentence, but Korra knew what she meant.

-"I went through the coffee shop, used the crowd to disappear. Iroh is crazy, but he's still a soldier. He doesn't want half a dozen of his own patrons lying dead on the floor in collateral damage, so that bought me enough time to make it over to your place. I saw the door of your apartment had been kicked down, so I made my way over to the roof instead. I wasn't in time, because I was still working my way down when I heard the first gunshot." She was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Jinora. For what happened that day."

She shook her head. "Wasn't your fault. Hell, you were the hero. If it hadn't been for you, Tahno would have raped Ikki, me, maybe even my mom as well, and then he would have killed us all."

Another silence fell between them.

-"How are things with your family?" Korra cautiously asked.

Jinora sighed, and let her head rest against the fence. "I haven't heard from them since I went inside. I couldn't attend Meelo's funeral, because no one wanted to post bail for me, and my mom hates me. She probably still does, and the weirdest thing is, I don't blame her."

-"But Jin, she's your mother," the older girl softly said, running a hand through Jinora's hair. "That's nothing like the Pema I knew."

"I got Meelo killed, plain and simple. I may not have pulled the trigger, but it was all my fault. I don't deserve someone as good as her."

Korra didn't say anything. Jinora softly started snickering after a while, and Korra pulled her into another hug, making sure no one could see her cry.

Truth be told, she missed her mother immensely. In the past, Jinora had never gone more than a week without seeing her mother, and that was once, when she went on a school field trip. In actuality, it wasn't even a week, it was four nights and five days, but by now, she'd gone a year and a half without seeing her.

It was Jinora's definition of hell.

-"Hey." She looked up at Korra's blue eyes. "She will come around. It's not in her nature to hold grudges, especially against people she loves. Until then, we have to stick together, and we are going to win this one. Okay?"

Jinora nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

**Two months later**

-"Gyatso, you got a visitor."

Jinora looked up in surprise. "I don't get visitors."

The guard wasn't amused by this. "Well, you do now, so get your ass over to the visitor's area, otherwise I'll tell her to leave."

She took a deep breath, and made her way over to the small room that was buzzing with hushed conversations. It wasn't truly comfortable, as everyone else could hear what you were saying, and some people needed to discuss some very intimate things, as Jinora would be forced to once she saw who it was that had come to visit her.

"Hey Mom," she said, upon sitting down at the table.

Pema managed a small albeit forced smile. "Hey Jinora."

It briefly fell silent. "Why did you come?" the younger girl asked. "You have no reason to, in fact, I wouldn't blame you if you'd tell me that you hate me, but I doubt that you'd come all the way out here just to say that."

Her mother smiled more sincerely this time around. "I didn't come here to tell you that I hate you. I wanted to, though." She took a deep breath. "For all this time, I wanted to hate you. After you were convicted, Ikki came home, crying her eyes out. She told me about the sentencing, but I remained stubborn. I wanted to blame you for all of this, because it was easy, and there was enough to deal with." She paused for a while. "I didn't want to face facts, and realize that I am also to blame for this, for the same reasons that we said all those months ago, around the dinner table. Meanwhile, I was denying Ikki and Rohan a chance to see their sister for eight years straight, and that weighed on them as well. They miss you, Jinora. Ikki refuses to agree with me that it was your fault, and we have been almost constantly fighting over it. Then, about two weeks ago, came a message on the news: Iroh had been executed. He'd been sentenced to death, and they briefly mentioned how it was because of your testimony that he was caught, and that the police, under the command of Detective Beifong, were finally able to clean up in the Dragon Flats. You made all that possible."

She paused for a moment, and sighed. "And there I still was, blaming you for something you wouldn't have wanted in a million years. For something that you nearly gave your life to try and prevent. That when I realized it: I love you, Jinora. I have loved you from the moment I first learned I was pregnant with you. I don't know if I can ever fully forgive you for what your actions caused, but I should at least try. And I don't blame you anymore. What happened to Meelo was the fault of a maniac, not yours."

A small smile appeared on Jinora's face. _Even with all the shit you pulled, she's still on your side._ "But everything I did... I destroyed everything you have worked so hard to accomplish!" Jinora paused for a moment, and her mother gave her a conceding nod. "You did everything you could, and did a great job raising four children, and because of my greed, I messed it all up."

-"Do you really think it was greed? You said you did it to protect me, and to secure a future for Ikki and Meelo, and hopefully yourself as well."

"And in the process, I got Meelo killed, scarred Ikki and Rohan for life, and..." This next one was going to be hard, as it would mean telling the full truth, so she took a deep breath to prepare herself. "And got my dumb ass pregnant."

-" **WHAT?!** "

Jinora sighed. "I didn't know about it until I got convicted, and once I got here, it took the prison doctor all of three minutes to figure it out."

At first, her mother didn't say anything. It took her quite a while to come to grips with this news, much like Jinora expected. "What did you do with it?"

"Had to get it aborted at 16 weeks. Mom, they would have taken it away from me the moment it's born. They would have to hand it over to you, as you are my closest living relative, and I couldn't burden you with a baby. You did a great job raising four children, and I fucked it all up in one foul swoop." It fell silent for a bit. "Even if I didn't say it as flat out like this, would you really want to be a grandmother before you hit 50?"

Pema sighed and leaned back into her chair. "No, I suppose I wouldn't want to be. I just hope you still think you made the right decision."

A dry chuckle was all that escaped from Jinora's lips. "I've had all the time in the world to think about it in here, especially since I haven't had a decent night's sleep since I got arrested. Besides, the chance of it having defects were big. I was wasted when I had sex with Kai, and then ran off to use heroin, and the thought of wanting it again appeared to me more than once in here." For a long time, it was silent between them. Her mother had to process such huge news, especially given the impact it had on Jinora. Ultimately, she had to break it. "Mom, I want children, eventually. But I want them with someone I love, when I can properly take care of them myself. I don't want it to be born from a colossal vodka-fueled mistake, and I definitely don't want it to spend the first six years of its life only seeing me an hour a week on Saturdays."

It was silent for a long time. "You got eight years."

"With parole."

-"Don't you think that's too little for what you did?"

"It is. Beifong took pity on me, and convinced her 500-yuans-an-hour-lawyer of a wife to take my case, and defend the hell out of me. Kya Winters, she managed to make me get away with murder. She claimed that the charge of murder in the first degree was nonsense, as I was forced to do it, and the jury agreed with that."

Pema chuckled, but it wasn't the good-hearted laugh that her mother usually had. It was more forced, and it was obvious to Jinora that whatever had been lost during her fight with Tahno wasn't coming back any time soon. "That's one way to do it," the mother said. Her expression changed to slightly more serious after this. "It's not fair that you're in here, Jinora. You didn't do any of what of what you did for your own benefit, you did it to protect us all, and that it backfired shouldn't land you in prison, especially because you gave them Iroh."

She thought about this for a moment. "Not fair," Jinora ultimately repeated. She looked around, and spotted the girl she was looking for. "You see the girl with the pigtails over my left shoulder? She was being systematically abused by her step-brother, but he was the parents' favorite, and they didn't do anything about it. One day, she had enough, went into her dad's study, and pulled out his gun. Hattrick to the chest, killed him instantly. But because there wasn't any direct emergency, and because she didn't have some hot-shot lawyer with 1200 yuan shoes, she ended up with 16 years of prison. Double of what I got, and I shot a man at point blank who never did anything to me, except for costing my criminal employer a bit of money." She briefly paused. "The system didn't cheat on me, I cheated the system."

-"Maybe you did, maybe you didn't, it's still too long for my taste."

"You really think so?"

Pema sighed. "You're my daughter, Jinora, depsite everything your actions led to."

A loud buzz came from the desk, an they both turned to face the guard. "Visitation hour is nearly over, everybody say your goodbyes now." They both stood up, a little bit awkward, since neither really knew what to do.

"I..." Jinora hesitantly began, but decided there was a better way to formulate that sentence. "Thanks Mom. For coming, and for giving me a second chance."

-"Oh sweetheart... Come here," Pema said, and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "I still love you, Jinora. Don't you ever forget that." They broke away, and gave each other a strained smile. "I'm coming back next week, and then I'm taking Ikki and Rohan with me."

"I'd like that." Jinora's smile turned a bit more genuine.

-"You take care of yourself until then, okay?"

"I will Mom, but I promise you, things could be worse."

-"What do you mean?"

Jinora smiled again. "In juvie, they gave us beige jumpsuits," she said, gesturing to her completely formless but orange prison outfit. "You always said it: orange is my color."

* * *

_And that was it for All are Equal! Thank you, everyone, for reading it to the end, for all those who stuck with it all the way. It was a ton of fun writing it, and even though I don't necessarily know if I'd write something like this again, I definitely will continue writing._

_Once again, special thanks to a few people:[AvatarKya](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/User:AvatarKya), for drawing Jinora as The Airbender (the eyes man, the eyes),[Korra2000](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/User:Korra2000), for writing the date between Kai and Jinora in chapter 10, and [Tono555](http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/User:Tono555) for doing the proofreading on quite a few chapters. You guys all rock!_

_Anyway, that's it for now, I hope you enjoyed the show, and I hope to see you all again at my other stories. Take care folks!_


	20. Trial by Water (non-canon)

_This was supposed to go inbetween A Sister's Sacrifice and A Year and a Half Later. I wrote it, but in the end, didn't think it was up to par, so I omitted it and transferred the important details to the actual chapter 19. If you don't like it, I don't consider it 'canon' if that makes any sense. Just thought you should have this one scene that I had left._

* * *

"His name is Iroh Iwomatsu, and he operates from above a coffeeshop on 87th, between Taku and Omashu. Go in with everything you have, because he's a soldier, and he's clever. He'll know every way you're coming for him, so don't hold back. It's gotta be a one punch knockout."

The detective abruptly stood up, pacing out of the room quickly. Three minutes later, she came back, now wearing a bullet proof vest and carrying a pistol on her hip. She uncuffed Jinora, much to the younger girl's surprise. "You're going after him yourself?"

-"I am, I've come too close to let this slip away. There's an officer outside, if you need something, ask him. As to your family, if I fail, my captain will go with a Federal investigation, there's no escaping from that. They'll be safe."

Jinora sighed in relief. "Detective?" she hesitantly said before Beifong was about to march out, and she looked over her shoulder. "Be careful."

She nodded, slammed the door shut, and that was it. Now Jinora could do nothing but wait, which would probably be a long time, given that Beifong was on her way to arrest a commando.

She was right: it took the detective over three hours, in which The Airbender explored every possible way to sit in the interrogation room, ultimately settling in the corner, hoodie pulled over her eyes, where she tried to get some sleep. Hopeless endeavor of course, since the only thing she could really think about was what was going to happen next. _Damn, I wish I had some of that Glide to help me sleep._ Jinora closed her eyes, desperately willing herself to forget that thought. Every bad decision she had made up to this point culminated in that one horrible decision, and now she was paying the price. It helped her forget for a few hours, but no more than that. Korra had been totally justified in punching her in the stomach as hard as she did, because it was probably the stupidest thing she had ever done. A reasonable penalty.

After a while, Jinora's thoughts turned back to the situation at hand. If Korra could manage to make it out of the city alive, she had a fighting chance at reaching Zaofu, provided she could make it over the border. Then there was the issue of Lin Beifong, because if she failed now, chances were, Iroh would get away permanently.

Whether that was a bad thing or not was up for debate, because he couldn't hurt anyone in the city at that rate. That would be the upside, the downside would be that he could start anew in some other city, and her confession would be pointless.

She was stirred from her thoughts when the door opened again, only it wasn't Beifong walking in. The officer that had been standing guard outside took her to a holding cell, and quietly locked the door behind her.

The cell wasn't exactly a three-star hotel room: there was a bed, _or something that meets the absolute minimal standards to be called a bed_ , a toilet, a sink, and that was about it. Seeing how there was nothing she could do right now, Jinora lay down on the bed, trying to put herself at ease a little bit.

Didn't help much, really. What if her family wasn't safe, even here in the precinct? Then it would all have been for nothing after all, because Iroh would kill them, even if he was arrested. And that wasn't even entirely certain, because it depended on the skills of Lin Beifong.

A few hours later, someone rattled at the door, and Beifong opened it up. "Congratulations kid, your intel was solid. I got him. He put up one hell of a fight and I had to put a bullet in his leg, which was surprisingly satisfying."

Jinora sighed in relief. "And my family?"

-"I pulled some strings at my old precinct. They're in a safehouse downtown, under 24 hour surveillance by men I would trust with my life. They're safe."

Despite the hopeless situation, a slight smile appeared on Jinora's face. "Thank you, detective."

-"One more thing: I got you a care package. Follow me," she said, holding out a pair of handcuffs. Even though they weren't necessary, _because any attempt to flee would end with a taser to the shoulder,_ Jinora didn't protest, and let herself be cuffed again.

Beifong led her back to the interrogation room, where someone was waiting for her. She was a tanned woman with long grey hair, wearing a simple yet stylish blue dress. She had a very friendly face, and Jinora felt instantly at ease with her.

-"Jinora Gyatso? I'm Kya Waters, your lawyer."

They shook hands, and sat down at either end of the table, as Beifong quickly left again. "Greatness. Are you here to tell me how many years I'm going to spend in prison?" the younger girl sarcastically asked.

-"Something like that. In reality, that's the judge's job. It's my job to make sure that number is as small as the law will allow me."

"So what am I looking at?"

Kya pulled a file out of her bag, laying it on the table. "Well, with your confession, the charges are possession and use of an unregistered firearm, possession and distribution of narcotics, being part of a criminal gang, assault, forgery of an official document, and murder in the first degree. There is evidence on you backing all of those charges, so normally, I'd say you're going to prison for the rest of your life."

"Boy, you must be the life of the party."

The older woman laughed. "I wasn't finished yet. This isn't a normal case. You gave the breakthrough lead that brought in a man who has been wanted for years, and your case isn't very sexy, mostly because the trials of you and Iroh will be simultaneously. It's much easier to sell the sentencing of a dishonorably discharged cocky bastard than a poverty-stricken underprivileged teenager."

Jinora furrowed an eyebrow. "You're already talking about public opinion?"

-"Public opinion started playing a part the second you walked through those doors. And when it's you against Iroh, which is what I can spin it into, the public will automatically side with you."

"Will that help me?"

-"Even the toughest judges have hearts."

A smile played over Jinora's lips. "Great. So how do we play this?"

-"You'll have to plead guilty on all of the charges, except for the murder. I'll have to wait for the exact formulation, but I've worked on cases like this one before."

"How did they end?"

-"Well for the defendant."

The Airbender smiled again. _This is going to be good._

They spent the next few hours going over the case, analyzing Jinora's confession, forging a plan so that it would end the best way possible for her. Kya was quick to dismiss the possibility of bail, given that Pema wasn't exactly in a talking mood. She told them she wanted nothing to do with Jinora, which stung her badly, even if it hadn't come as a surprise.

The next three weeks were only to prepare her for the trial. The district attorney's office had indeed charged Jinora with exactly what Kya had predicted, which worked in their favor in this case. On the second day, Kya told her that Korra had been arrested at the border. She was carrying too much money in cash; 15,000 yuans, while only 10,000 is allowed. It felt kind of ironic: years of running drugs all over the borough, even murders, and she gets arrested on a technicality.

It wasn't looking good for her though: Jinora's testimony put Korra in the cross-hairs at a lot of points, so her only chance was to try and plead out on as many charges as possible.

What worried the younger girl was that her mother hadn't made a single attempt to seek contact. It made sense to her that she would be angry, and even that she'd blame Jinora for this, but this was an awfully long time without any contact between the two of them.

Even more to her dismay, the young girl wasn't even allowed to go to Meelo's funeral because she couldn't make bail. It felt so stupid; she couldn't pay her last respects to her little brother, all because her family doesn't have 25,000 yuans to spare. _Well, they do, but don't want to acknowledge that because it would land them in a cell right next to you. Maybe you could bunk together._

Court day rolled by. Kya had brought by some neat clothes for Jinora, which actually turned out to be a nice combination. The young girl would have really liked it, if the circumstances had been a little better.

-"I'm not going to let them put in jail for the rest of your life, okay? You're going to have to trust me for the next few hours," Kya said while squeezing Jinora's hand.

"I don't really have much of a choice now, do I?" They threw each other a crooked grin, and then a guard spoke up.

-"All rise. The honorable Judge Raiko presiding."

Jinora eyed the judge up: a rather tall man, with stern glasses and a mustache that told her he means business. "Please be seated," he motioned them all to sit. "Would the defendant please state her full name and home address?"

She took a deep breath, and stood up. "My name is Jinora Katara Gyatso, and my most recent address was 2550 84th street."

He nodded. "Thank you. Miss Gyatso, you stand accused of the following crimes: possession and use of an unregistered firearm, possession and distribution of controlled substances, partaking in gang activity, assault, forgery, and murder in the first degree. How do you plead?"

"Guilty on all charges except for the murder."

Kya couldn't do much against all of the smaller charges, as she had not only confessed, they had her fingerprints on everything, literally in some cases. That was, until it came to the murder charge, which was where their plan would come into play.

The DA was the first one to ask questions. "Miss Gyatso, you pleaded not guilty on the murder charge. However, we have a recorded confession of you admitting that you were the one who shot who shot Zaheer Norbu in the head. Do you stand by that confession?"

"I do."

-"Then why do you plead not guilty?"

"Because the charge is for murder in the first degree, which I didn't commit, as was stated in my confession."

He paused for a moment, looking at her in awe. "Miss Gyatso, there are two witnesses, the gun has your fingerprints on it, and we have a sworn statement from you, confessing the act. Are you guilty, yes or no?!"

_Like fuckin' clockwork. He's getting frustrated, just like Kya said he would._ "No."

The DA took a deep breath, and turned around. "No further questions, your honor."

Kya stood up, a slight smile on her face. "Miss Gyatso, could you describe who else was there, besides you and the victim?"

"My supplier, Iroh, my friend and 'mentor' Korra, and Iroh's second-in-command, Tahno, who was killed when he attempted to murder my family."

-"And they were all armed?"

"Very much so."

-"Did you set off with the intention to kill anyone?"

"Not personally, no. The plan was that we split up, Korra and me taking the door, Iroh and Tahno the fire escape. Korra told me to miss every shot I fired, which I did. Shot 14 times, and I missed every single shot I fired."

-"Then how did a bullet from your gun end up in Zaheer Norbu's head?"

"Iroh brought a spare magazine for me, he planned for this. He forced me to execute him Zaheer."

-"And when you say forced, what do you mean?"

"He just ordered and executed the targeted assassination of three people, and the fourth one was imminent, regardless of what I'd do. I didn't believe he would have taken 'no' for an answer from me."

Kya briefly looked over to the jury, playing to their emotions. "Were you scared of him?"

Jinora paused for dramatic effect, as Kya had assured her that would work big time on them. "Terrified."

The lawyer slowly nodded. "No further questions, your honor. Though I would like to remind the jury that it's only murder in the first degree if there was premeditation, which, as Miss Gyatso just pointed out, was not the case here."

There was a bunch more back and forth on the same argument, but it was impossible to read what the jury was thinking. A real shock came when Korra was brought into the courtroom, in prison clothes and handcuffs. Jinora had never seen her look so terrible.

Her answers weren't gving the DA what he wanted, as her story only confirmed Jinora's. "Miss Nasak, may I remind you that you are under oath, and that twisting the truth to make an old friend of yours look better is also considered purgery?"

Korra looked up at this. "I'm not twisting anything. Jinora has never been a violent person, wouldn't have been there if Iroh hadn't forced her to, and she certainly wouldn't have executed someone." She threw Jinora a quick smile, who returned it.

Iroh was brought in next, and his version was more to the DA's liking. Even though he did admit he was the on who put her up to shooting him, he didn't say anything about scaring or forcing her to pull the trigger. Not that it mattered very much, because this time, The Airbender could see the jury squinting, shaking their heads at some points, leading Jinora to believe they didn't believe a word of him.

After a long time, all the witnesses were heard, the evidence was seen, and the jury was now debating who was and wasn't guilty. As was expected, it took them a long time, and when they came back into the courtroom, Kya squeezed Jinora's hand.

-"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Raiko asked.

A woman stood up. "Yes we did your honor. We find miss Gyatso not guilty of murder in the first degree, but we do find her guilty of all other charges."

-"Thank you." The judge turned to Jinora. "Miss Gyatso, with this verdict, I face a dilemma. Since you are not guilty of murder, and you have given a breaktrough lead on a very dangerous individual, it would always influence your sentence. However, even taking Detective Beifong's testimony into consideration, one right doesn't make up for a long list of wrongs. I am therefore forced to uphold the law, and sentence you to eight years of federal incarceration, with the possiblity of parole. You will be transferred to the Juvinile Penetentary until you turn 18, after which you will be transferred to the minimum security facility upstate to serve out the rest of your sentence. This case is closed." He confirmed this with a hit of the gavel, much to the grievance of the DA.


End file.
